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Former MD legislative aide pleads guilty to theft of scholarship funds
Rachel Konieczny//March 26, 2025//
A former legislative aide to Sen. William Smith Jr. has pleaded guilty to felony theft of $20,000 in scholarship funds from the senator’s office.
Esther Dikongue pleaded guilty on Tuesday after being indicted in January on charges of felony theft scheme, felony theft and unauthorized access to a computer system for stealing funds allocated for legislative scholarships.
According to the indictment, Dikongue awarded herself a senatorial scholarship by advising the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC), the organization that disburses scholarships to scholarship recipients, that she was one of the students selected to receive scholarship funds in the amount of $10,000 through Smith’s selection process, despite Dikongue never having submitted a scholarship application.
The indictment stated Dikongue continued to log onto Smith’s email account after her employment ended in March 2023 to send emails from Smith’s senatorial email to MHEC indicating Smith’s office authorized her scholarship be moved from the spring of 2025 to the summer semester of 2024. The indictment stated that Dikongue emailed MHEC three separate times after her employment with Smith’s office had ended, using the signature lines of other legislative aides.
“It is unacceptable to misappropriate funds that are reserved to help Maryland students attend universities,” Maryland State Prosecutor Charlton Howard III said in a news release. “Our Office will continue to work to ensure Maryland tax-payer dollars are being used as intended.”
Neither counsel for Dikongue nor Smith’s office immediately responded to The Daily Record’s requests for comment.
The Maryland Senatorial Scholarship is awarded, through legislative delegations by specific districts, to Maryland residents planning to pursue a postsecondary education at qualifying colleges. According to the indictment, Maryland state senators are provided an annual budget for the scholarships, with each senator having the discretion to determine selection criteria for student award recipients and the division of scholarship amounts among awarded students.
Smith, who represents District 20 in Montgomery County, created a scholarship committee composed of community volunteers who review scholarship applications and make recommendations to Smith regarding the student awards.
To qualify for a Maryland Senatorial Scholarship from Smith’s office, a student must reside in Smith’s legislative district and must either attend a Maryland college or provide documentation that an out-of-state school offers a qualifying unique major not available through a Maryland school. Students must also write an essay responding to questions provided by Smith.
Once a scholarship award is made to a student, MHEC automatically renews the same amount for subsequent school terms until the student obtains their degree, according to the indictment.
Smith’s average scholarship award amounts range from $500 to $1,500 per student, with Smith awarding more than $1,500 only under rare circumstances, the indictment stated.
Dikongue’s sentencing is scheduled for July 16 before the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court.
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