Maryland Septic Worker Charged with Illegally Dumping Raw Sewage in Wooded Area Near Homes
BALTIMORE — A septic company employee faces criminal charges for allegedly dumping raw sewage in a forested area of Wicomico County, state officials announced Thursday.
Terry Adrian Handy Jr., of Eden, Maryland, was charged on August 14 in the Circuit Court for Wicomico County with two counts of illegal discharge of a pollutant and two counts of unlawful disposal of sewage, according to Attorney General Anthony G. Brown.
The investigation, led by the Attorney General’s Environmental and Natural Resources Crimes Unit, the Maryland Department of the Environment, and the Wicomico County Health Department, revealed that Handy was employed by Price & Son Septic Services Inc., a septic-hauling business based in Eden.
On October 23, 2025, the Wicomico County Health Department responded to a complaint on a neighboring property and observed piping leading from the Price & Son sewage pump truck parking pad into a wooded area behind the property, extending beyond the company’s property line. Investigators reported that the forested area smelled strongly of sewage and had soft, unstable ground.
Four days later, on October 27, 2025, investigators conducted a site visit and discovered a large area of black sludge-like material with an overwhelming odor consistent with raw sewage. While on site, they witnessed Handy disconnecting a hose from a septic truck and immediately observed a new large area of brown liquid actively flowing over the previously dry sludge area. Investigators determined Handy had just discharged the contents of the septic truck directly onto the adjacent property.
“Dumping sewage into the woods near a residential area is not a temporary solution; it is a crime that puts Marylanders’ health and the environment at risk,” said Attorney General Brown. “My Office will hold accountable anyone who takes shortcuts instead of following the laws that protect Maryland’s environment.”
Maryland Department of the Environment Secretary Serena McIlwain added: “Illegal dumping of sewage damages our environment and hurts communities. There are many facilities designed to properly dispose of this material for treatment, and this property is certainly not one of them. Anyone who chooses to put public health at risk or pollute our environment will be held accountable.”
A criminal information is merely an accusation, and Handy is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Maryland Home Health Employee Sentenced for ‘Double Dipping’ Medicaid Fraud Scheme
BALTIMORE — A former Howard County home healthcare employee was sentenced to five years in prison — with all but time served suspended — for submitting more than $25,000 in fraudulent Medicaid claims for services she claimed to provide while she was actually working another job or traveling abroad, Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced Thursday.
Falguni Patel, 60, pleaded guilty on August 3 to one count of felony public health fraud before Judge Garret P. Glennon Jr. in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County. In addition to the suspended prison sentence, Glennon ordered Patel to serve three years of supervised probation and pay restitution of $25,310.51.
According to prosecutors, Patel was employed by HomeCentris Healthcare, LLC (formerly known as Personal Health Care, Inc.), which relied on her statements when submitting claims to Maryland Medicaid. Investigators determined that Patel falsely claimed to be providing home healthcare services while she was physically present at another job or outside the United States.
“Every fraudulent Medicaid claim drains resources from Marylanders who rely on home healthcare to live safely and with dignity,” said Attorney General Brown. “My Office will continue rooting out fraud that exploits this vital program and the people who depend on it.”
Maryland Home Health Employee Sentenced for ‘Double Dipping’ Medicaid Fraud Scheme
BALTIMORE — A former Howard County home healthcare employee was sentenced to five years in prison — with all but time served suspended — for submitting more than $25,000 in fraudulent Medicaid claims for services she claimed to provide while she was actually working another job or traveling abroad, Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced Thursday.
Falguni Patel, 60, pleaded guilty on August 3 to one count of felony public health fraud before Judge Garret P. Glennon Jr. in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County. In addition to the suspended prison sentence, Glennon ordered Patel to serve three years of supervised probation and pay restitution of $25,310.51.
According to prosecutors, Patel was employed by HomeCentris Healthcare, LLC (formerly known as Personal Health Care, Inc.), which relied on her statements when submitting claims to Maryland Medicaid. Investigators determined that Patel falsely claimed to be providing home healthcare services while she was physically present at another job or outside the United States.
“Every fraudulent Medicaid claim drains resources from Marylanders who rely on home healthcare to live safely and with dignity,” said Attorney General Brown. “My Office will continue rooting out fraud that exploits this vital program and the people who depend on it.”
Amazon Secretly Inflated Ad Prices for Years, FTC and 22 States Allege in Major Lawsuit
BALTIMORE — Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown and 21 other state attorneys general, joined by the Federal Trade Commission, filed a sweeping lawsuit against Amazon on Tuesday, alleging the tech giant secretly imposed billions of dollars in undisclosed surcharges on advertisers through a deceptive scheme that manipulated its online search advertising auctions for more than seven years.
The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, claims Amazon unlawfully extracted tens of billions of dollars from more than one million brands and sellers, including over 500,000 small- and medium-sized businesses, by covertly converting its advertised “second-price” auction system into a more lucrative “first-price” model without disclosing the change.
According to the complaint, Amazon had long represented to advertisers that its auction system operated on a “second-price” basis, meaning the winner of an auction would pay “one cent more than the next highest bidder.” However, investigators allege that Amazon charged Sponsored Products advertisers more than the winning bid nearly 80% of the time, effectively running a first-price auction while continuing to represent otherwise.
Internal documents cited in the lawsuit reveal that Amazon executives were fully aware of the deception. Notes from a 2024 discussion between senior executives — including the head of Amazon Ads and Amazon’s Chief Digital Economist — acknowledged that the company’s “clever non-transparent way to charge first price” had been an “incredibly effective way to drive revenue.”
The scheme generated massive revenue increases, particularly on high-volume shopping days such as Prime Day and Black Friday, when the company applied far greater surcharges. Amazon carefully ramped up the surcharges to disguise the inflation and meet revenue targets, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit alleges that Amazon took active steps to conceal the pricing system from advertisers, including giving false and misleading answers to direct inquiries about whether the auction format had changed. Internal communications revealed that company leadership feared that revealing the surcharges would result in “irrevocable damage to advertiser trust” and trigger a “downward spiral” of advertisers lowering their bids, leading to dramatic revenue losses.
“For years, Amazon has deceived its advertising customers by secretly inflating prices in what was supposed to be a fair auction system,” said Attorney General Brown in a statement. “This lawsuit seeks to hold Amazon accountable for its unfair and deceptive practices that have cost businesses — particularly small and mid-sized enterprises — billions of dollars.”
The FTC and the coalition of states are seeking monetary penalties and injunctive relief to stop the alleged deceptive practices. Joining Maryland in the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, and Washington.
Amazon has not yet publicly responded to the allegations.
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