Greenbelt, MD – Charmaine Miesha Brown, a 45-year-old from Lusby, Maryland, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang for engaging in multiple fraud schemes, including passport and wire fraud. Following her imprisonment, Brown will undergo three years of supervised release and is mandated to pay $128,201.22 in restitution.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, Erek L. Barron, in conjunction with several key agencies, including the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General.
During the trial, it was revealed that from December 2014 through April 2021, Brown, alongside her husband Andrews Oduro, a Ghanaian national who legally entered the U.S. in 2013, conspired to fraudulently obtain U.S. passports for Oduro’s children from Ghana by using falsified documents and misrepresentations.
One striking example of their deceit involved a 2014 incident where Brown applied for a U.S. passport for her child, but used a photograph of one of Oduro’s children. This fraudulently obtained passport enabled the child to travel from Ghana to the U.S. Similar tactics were employed in subsequent years to secure passports for other children.
Further complicating Brown’s legal troubles was her involvement in defrauding Maryland’s Child Care Scholarship Program. She falsely claimed that childcare services were being provided by a friend, while in reality, Oduro, who was not the absent parent as claimed, was residing in the home and posing as the caregiver, thus diverting funds from the state from 2016 to 2021.
In 2018, the couple also engaged in bankruptcy fraud by submitting a false Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition under the name and partial social security number of an associate. This deception led to the discharge of significant debt amounts, further adding to the string of frauds perpetrated by the couple.
Andrews Oduro Brown had previously pleaded guilty to related charges and was sentenced to 28 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $127,951.22 in restitution.
In his remarks, U.S. Attorney Barron lauded the collaborative efforts of multiple agencies, including the State Department, the SSA Office of Inspector General, and the Department of Homeland Security, among others. He also expressed gratitude towards the Assistant U.S. Attorneys and other state and federal departments that played a role in the successful prosecution of the case.
