Fury erupts as Baltimore City Hall accused of spending $50K on crab cakes and chicken wings at Orioles games

Baltimore City Hall has entered into a fierce back and forth with the city’s inspector general over accusations of fraud after a city-run program allegedly splurged at baseball games.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming have been trapped in a ruthless debate over the city’s spending after a report exposed potential fraud in a recent investigation.

A report from the inspector general’s office alleged that a city-run youth-diversion program racked up around $50,000 on crab cakes and Old Bay-seasoned chicken wings in the city-owned skyboxes during Orioles and Ravens games.

Cumming alleged that there had been excessive spending on ‘birthday celebrations, employee appreciations, baby showers and flowers for a selective few.’

‘Witnesses stated the food and beverage is purchased when the Mayor or Mayor’s Office staff attend games in the Mayoral Suite at both stadiums. Witnesses claimed that this has been a practice of prior mayoral administrations,’ the report obtained by the Daily Mail stated.

‘Additionally, correspondence reviewed from 2025 stated an executive in the Mayor’s Office would like a “fresh fruit tray available to everyone in the mayor’s suite daily.”’

A second report on the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood and Safety and Engagement Response said that their investigation ‘uncovered fraudulent invoices and an exposure of juvenile information, which both have been referred to law enforcement.’

Scott responded by challenging the inspector general’s ‘characterizations and implications’ regarding the city’s spending.

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