DC Police Officer Indicted In Bribery Scheme Over Crash Victims

WASHINGTON, DC — A Washington, D.C. police officer faces charges in connection with a bribery scheme to provide non-public information about people involved in traffic accidents in exchange for cash payments, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

Vincent Forrest, 33, a member of the Metropolitan Police Department and a D.C. resident, and Raquel Depaula, 43, of Beltsville, Maryland, were indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of conspiracy and one count each of bribery, the U.S. attorney’s office in D.C. said Friday.

Forrest also was indicted on one count of making a false statement.

Beginning in April 2019, Forrest, a patrol officer with the MPD, and Depaula, an alleged "runner" who worked in return for referral fees to connect people in need of legal representation or medical services with providers of those services, engaged in a scheme to trade confidential traffic accident victim information from MPD traffic accident reports, or “PD Form 10s,” for bribes, according to the grand jury indictment.

Depaula allegedly offered Forrest bribes to get confidential accident victim information.

Forrest allegedly used his official access to MPD’s law enforcement sensitive database to review and record victim contact information from official traffic accident reports, which contained the names and contact information of people involved in traffic accidents.

He then allegedly sent Depaula victim contact information using WhatsApp Messenger, an encrypted communications application. Forrest then met up with Depaula at various locations in D.C. and Maryland, including Depaula’s Maryland residence to receive bribes from her, according to the indictment.

Depaula then provided victim contact information from the traffic crash reports to local attorneys in exchange for a referral fee, leading to accident victims to be contacted by attorneys within days of their traffic accidents in violation of D.C. law.

Forrest and Depaula allegedly concealed their bribery scheme by communicating through an encrypted application, meeting in person, and exchanging bribes in cash.

During the four-month scheme, Forrest viewed more than 4,000 traffic crash reports, according to the indictment.

In addition, when interviewed by federal law enforcement, Forrest provided false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements and representations about his conduct and the scheme, specifically, denying that he ever provided the crash reports to unauthorized third parties, according to the indictment.

Forrest was arrested and charged in a criminal complaint on June 4. He was expected to be arraigned in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Friday.

If found guilty, Forrest would face a maximum of 30 years in prison, and Depaula could face up to 20 years.