Nathaniel Thomas Oaks, 71, Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud in Maryland

Baltimore, MD – In a shocking turn of events, Maryland State Senator Nathaniel Thomas Oaks, 71, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to one count of wire fraud and one count of honest services wire fraud. The guilty plea was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Stephen M. Schenning and Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

According to the plea agreement, Oaks was a Maryland State Delegate representing District 41 (Baltimore City) from 1994 until being appointed to the Maryland Senate in February 2017, representing the same District. Oaks was introduced to an FBI confidential human source, “Mike Henley,” who portrayed himself as an out-of-town businessperson interested in obtaining contracts in the City of Baltimore. The meeting took place at a restaurant in Pikesville, Maryland, and was consensually recorded by Henley.

During the months following the September 21, 2015 meeting between Henley and Oaks, Henley consensually recorded numerous telephone and in-person conversations with Oaks during which they discussed possible development and business-related opportunities that may be available to Henley in Maryland. One such opportunity was a United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) project (the Project) that Henley told Oaks that he was interested in developing in the City. Oaks told Henley that he wanted to help with the HUD project.

Between the months of April 2016 and July 2016, Oaks issued two letters on his official House of Delegates letterhead which contained materially false and fraudulent representations to a person whom he believed to be a HUD official in order to assist Henley in obtaining federal grant funds from HUD. Henley paid Oaks $10,300 for his assistance. Oaks also filed a bill request with the Maryland Department of Legislative Services (DLS) seeking $250,000 in state funds for the Project, which Henley paid him $5,000 for.

On or about January 9, 2017, Oaks confessed to two FBI agents that he has accepted the first two payments from Henley in exchange for issuing two letters to HUD on his official House of Delegates letterhead and that he knew the letters contained materially false statements in an effort to assist Henley with his housing project. Oaks agreed to cooperate with the FBI in an investigation of Person #1 for possible violations of federal criminal laws.

Oaks is scheduled to be sentenced on April 14, 2023, and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for wire fraud. He also faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for honest services wire fraud. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

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