Former MPD officer sentenced to prison for selling information about accident victims

WASHINGTON – A former Metropolitan Police Department officer was sentenced Wednesday to more than a year in prison in connection with a bribery scheme.

Investigators say Vincent Forest, 36, sold confidential information from an accident victim for cash.

On January 11, Forrest was found guilty in a jury trial of conspiracy, bribery and perjury. In addition to a 20-month prison sentence, he was sentenced to three years' probation and a fine of $15,000.01.

According to the evidence, beginning in April 2019, Forrest used his official access to the MPD's sensitive police database to review and record victim contact information from traffic accident reports that included the names and contact information of the people involved.

Forrest sent this stolen information to Raquel DePaula, 43, of Beltsville, Maryland, using an encrypted communications application. DePaula, the owner of RD Legal Solutions, LLC, acted as a “runner,” passing on the victims' information to local attorneys in exchange for referral fees. The attorneys then contacted the accident victims within days of the accidents, violating DC law.

During the trial, DePaula testified that she paid Forrest weekly bribes of between $1,200 and $1,800 to obtain the stolen contact information. Evidence at trial showed that over the course of the scheme, she paid Forrest over $15,000 and obtained contact information for 2,667 traffic accident victims.

On October 6, 2021, DePaula pleaded guilty to bribery of a public official. On April 1, she was sentenced to five years of probation. DePaula and Forrest are the sixth and seventh defendants convicted in connection with the illegal sale of traffic accident reports by MPD officers. Previously, MPD officers Walter Lee and Kendra Coles, MPD employee Aaron Willis, business owner Marvin Parker and law office employee Michelle Cage pleaded guilty to similar charges.

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