A former patrol officer with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) was found guilty of accepting bribes in exchange for sharing non-public police information for cash payments.
Vincent Forrest, 35, who lives in D.C., and Raquel DePaula, 43, of Beltsville, Maryland, were indicted by a federal grand jury in June 2021.
From April 2019, Forrest got confidential information from MPD Traffic Accident Reports, also called “PD Form 10s.” Forrest illegally accessed MPD’s sensitive database to gather victims’ contact information from traffic accident reports. The reports contained the names and contact information of individuals involved in traffic accidents. Forrest sent the victims’ contact information to DePaula using WhatsApp Messenger, an encrypted communications application.
Prosecutors said DePaula, who owned RD Legal Solutions, LLC, acted as a “runner,” using victims’ contact information to solicit local attorneys in exchange for referral fees. DePaula reached out to the accident victims within days of their traffic accidents.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Forrest met up with DePaula at various District and Maryland locations to receive her cash bribes. Prosecutors argued that Forrest and DePaula concealed their bribery scheme by, among other methods, communicating by encrypted application, meeting in person, and exchanging bribes in cash.
DePaula pleaded guilty on Oct. 6, 2021, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to one count of bribery of a public official. Her sentencing is scheduled for March 15, 2024. DePaula has admitted paying Forrest approximately $600 and $1,300 per week in exchange for the victim’s contact information.
Prosecutors said the evidence at trial showed that throughout the scheme, she paid Forrest over $15,000 and received contact information for 2,316 traffic crash victims.