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The former agent, David Paitsel, 41, of Upper Marlboro in Maryland, and Brian Bailey, 52, a real estate developer formerly based in Washington, DC, were found guilty following a trial in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, according to officials.
Specifically, Bailey was found guilty of two counts of bribery and two counts of conspiracy for giving thousands of dollars in bribes to a program specialist with the District of Columbia Department of Housing and Community Development in exchange for confidential, un-redacted Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) offer of sale notices.
“TOPA provides tenants living in the District of Columbia with the right to purchase their residence should the owner decide to sell the property,” prosecutors explained. "Under TOPA, tenants can re-assign their right to purchase to a third party.
“TOPA requires the owner (seller) to provide the District of Columbia Department of Housing and Community Development with an offer of sale notice before the proposed real estate transaction.”
Offers of sale include confidential information not released to the public, such as the names of tenants living in the property.
As part of the scheme, officials said that both Bailey and Paitsel were found guilty of bribery and conspiracy because Bailey paid Paitsel bribes to look up the contact information of the tenants holding TOPA rights, which he did by using a database he had access to as an FBI Agent.
Prosecutors name note that a DC government employee, Dawne Dorsey, 40, pleaded guilty in June 2019 to a separate scheme that involved a federal bribery charge involving Bailey.
No sentencing date has been set.
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