Photo by Tim Evanson / Flickr

A Maryland man pleaded guilty in federal court to bribing employees at the Metropolitan Police Department for crash reports, which contained information about people that had been involved in traffic accidents, the United States Attorney’s Office of D.C. announced on Friday.

Sixty-year-old Marvin Parker of Silver Spring, Maryland faces up to 15 years in prison, up to three years of probation, and a fine as high as $250,000 for one count of bribery of public officials and witnesses. The estimated sentencing guidelines provided in the signed plea agreement, however, range between 24 months to 30 months in prison, with an estimated fine of $10,000 to $95,000.

In all, Parker paid both employees more than $40,000 in cash for the reports over a two year span. Between August 2015 and October 2017, Parker allegedly paid one MPD employee about $50 to $200 per week and another employee about $400 to $500 per week for the information.

Parker reportedly used the traffic crash reports to help his consulting business, called RPM Associates, based in Maryland. He gathered people’s personal information and then called them to offer help finding lawyers or medical services, per the USAO. MPD’s General Orders don’t permit its employees to release these reports “except under limited circumstances,” and D.C. law also prohibits soliciting people who’ve been in traffic accidents within 21 days of the accident, the USAO says.

Parker has a previous conviction for felony larceny in 1992, per the plea agreement provided to DCist.

In June, prosecutors charged a police officer named Walter Lee with bribery in federal court for allegedly accepting $15,000 in bribes to provide someone with crash report information. It’s unclear whether the two cases are related. Lee was placed on non-contact status after he was charged.

MPD did not immediately respond to request for comment on the two MPD employees implicated in Parker’s case, and whether they remain employed with the department.