Baltimore nonprofit KEYS Empowers spent $1 million on grant before FBI raid

A Baltimore City nonprofit, KEYS Empowers, which received millions in taxpayer funding, spent $1 million this year on a grant donation to an unspecified organization, according to FOX45 Baltimore and documents obtained by Spotlight on Maryland.

The $1 million expense was described by a state auditor as a "massive red flag" requiring immediate verification of invoices and vendors, according to an email obtained by Spotlight on Maryland.

KEYS Empowers had its offices on Liberty Road raided by the FBI in September. Following the raid, the nonprofit's head resigned from his position as a Baltimore City school board commissioner, FOX45 Baltimore reported.

An audit by the Maryland Office of the Inspector General for Health (OIGH) questioned an $824,000 grant from the Maryland Department of Health to KEYS Empowers, finding nearly half of the funds must be returned due to overfunding and inadequate documentation. The audit covered funding from 2021 to 2024.

OIGH also noted ongoing concerns in KEYS Empowers' unaudited 2026 financial statement, including a $273,000 expense described as "highly unusual" for the nonprofit's programs, and stated that the nonprofit's financial condition could not be determined due to critical missing information.

The Maryland Department of Health's oversight lapses were cited as contributing to unrecovered overfunding, according to the audit.