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FBI And IRS Raid City Hall And Home Of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh

FBI And IRS Raid City Hall And Home Of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh

Baltimore mayor
FILE – In this Dec. 6, 2016, file photo, Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh delivers an address during her inauguration ceremony inside the War Memorial Building in Baltimore. A spokesman for the embattled mayor of Baltimore says she’ll return from her leave of absence as soon as her health allows. Spokesman James Bentley told The Baltimore Sun on Saturday, April 6, 2019, that Pugh’s health is improving. It’s unclear when she’ll return. Pugh abruptly took her leave last week to recover from pneumonia. Meanwhile, a scandal involving her sale of children’s books to high-profile clients has intensified. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

The FBI Baltimore office and IRS Criminal Division searched Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh’s home, a business address, an aide’s home, and Baltimore City Hall, an FBI spokesman said.

Three FBI agents were seen entering and exiting the home, and removing boxes from garages, WBALTV reported at 6:30 a.m. Thursday.

Nearby, agents served a search warrant at a home where Pugh lived for years, which is linked to the Healthy Holly scandal.

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Healthy Holly is the heroine of a series of children’s books by Pugh
 that she sold for $500,000 to the University of Maryland Medical System, whose board she served on while she was a public official.

Pugh has been accused of not properly disclosing the Healthy Holly business in ethics forms, according to the Baltimore Sun.

Pugh likened the case to a witch hunt. She resigned this year from the University of Maryland Medical System’s board and said she returned $100,000.

In addition to the University of Maryland, Health provider Kaiser Permanente paid Pugh more than $100,000 for her books. This was at a time when the city’s spending board, which Pugh controls, awarded the company a $48 million contract to provide health insurance to city employees, according to USA Today.

The nonprofit Associated Black Charities says it collected nearly $90,000 to buy and distribute Pugh’s books, forwarding nearly $80,000 to Pugh’s company and keeping the rest.