Former Deputy Director at District Office of Neighborhood and Safety Engagement Pleads Guilty to Bribery

WASHINGTON — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)), published as received.

            WASHINGTON – Dana McDaniel, 44, of Washington D.C., pleaded guilty today to bribery for accepting at least $10,000 in exchange for agreeing to use her position as Deputy Director at the District’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (ONSE) to benefit another.

            The plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., FBI Special Agent in Charge Sean Ryan of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, Executive Special Agent in Charge Kareem Carter of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (CI), Washington, D.C. Field Office, and District of Columbia Inspector General Daniel W. Lucas.

            U.S. District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras set a sentencing date for August 6, 2025.

            According to court documents, from January 2020 to April 2023, McDaniel served as the Deputy Director of ONSE. In that role, McDaniel managed agency programming and community-based services focused on providing resources and interventions for at-risk individuals in at-risk communities impacted by violence in the District, including the Violence Intervention (VI) Initiative, a collaborative community engagement strategy designed to support D.C. residents in reducing gun-related violence in their communities.

            Court documents show that, prior to September 2022 and continuing through at least August 2024, McDaniel accepted at least $10,000 in cash from a Maryland resident to direct contracts and grants to two different District of Columbia-based businesses associated with the Maryland resident. Those companies included a company that represented itself as a community-based initiative to serve high-risk youths and adults and operated throughout the District, and a company that provided VI services as part of ONSE’s VI initiative in Ward 5.

            McDaniel faces a maximum of 15 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

            This case is being investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office, with substantial assistance from Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations and the District of Columbia Office of the Inspector General.

            It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Rebecca G. Ross, John Crabb, and Joshua Rothstein.