How Ronald Lipscombâs fraud scandal is making Cory McCray look like the dumbest guy in the room
By Barry OâConnell
Ron Lipscomb has always had a knack for getting close to power. Whether it was cozying up to Baltimoreâs then-Mayor Sheila Dixon or charming his way into elite Democratic circles, heâs played the long game. And now, with a $47 million EB-5 fraud scandal exploding around his failed hotel project near Johns Hopkins, the question isnât just how he pulled it off. Insiders want to know who let him in the room.
Letâs start with the basics: Lipscomb is the developer behind the Residence Inn project that defaulted on a $21 million bank loan. Nearly 100 Chinese investors were fleeced, each putting up $500K for green cards and a piece of the American dream. Instead, they got a shuttered hotel and a lawsuit alleging fraud, self-dealing, and misrepresentation.
But this isnât Lipscombâs first rodeo.
He was once the boyfriend of Mayor Sheila Dixon, who resigned in disgrace after being convicted of embezzling gift cards meant for Baltimoreâs poor. Dixon used her office to enrich herself and her family, accepted lavish gifts from Lipscomb, including a $2,000 furrier gift certificate, and voted for multimillion-dollar tax breaks for his projects before hopping a train to Manhattan to celebrate with him.
To make matters worse, Ron Lipscomb is no stranger to scandal. Back in 2007 he got caught bribing. Helen Holton Baltimore city council. He got off on a technicality but there was no real doubt in anyone's mind that he committed the act of bribery. It's just that his case depended on Holton's case and she was able to slip out of it claiming legislative immunity. I guess that's the law that says it's okay to bribe Baltimore City Council people. It should have been a warning to anybody with any common sense that he was a s***bag and should be avoided.
So when Senator Cory McCray invited Lipscomb to his Annual Business Connect event in 2023, it wasnât just bad opticsâit was political malpractice. The event was a whoâs who of Marylandâs Democratic elite, including Jake Day, Secretary of Housing and former mayor of Salisbury, widely seen as a future gubernatorial contender. Day, by all accounts, is as clean as fresh snow on Christmas morning. But thanks to McCray, he ended up shaking hands with a man whoâs now being sued for defrauding immigrant investors.
McCray isnât accused of any wrongdoing yet. But letâs be honest: he looks like a damn fool. Bringing Lipscomb into that room was a colossal lapse in judgment. And itâs not the first time McCrayâs political instincts have been questioned. He was a key backer of Tom Perezâs gubernatorial bid, a campaign that fizzled despite high-profile endorsements and Obama-era credentials. Either McCray backed the wrong horse, or he couldnât deliver the votes. Neither option screams âsavvy.â
Now, whispers are swirling.
Why did McCray give Lipscomb a platform? Was it ignorance, arrogance, or something worse? Many in Annapolis are furiousânot just at the embarrassment, but at the risk. When you bring a known s***bag into the orbit of rising stars, you donât just tarnish your own reputation. You jeopardize theirs.
This isnât just a story about fraud. Itâs about the porous boundaries between power and opportunism. Itâs about how Marylandâs Democratic machine, so often insular and self-reinforcing, lets in the wrong people and protects the wrong reputations.
Cory McCray may not be corrupt. But he sure as hell should have known better.
đ Footnotes
1. Tom Perez launches campaign for Maryland governor
https://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/former-dnc-chair-tom-perez-launches-campaign-for-maryland-governor
2. Perez and McCray campaign together in Baltimore
https://marylandmatters.org/2022/07/19/candidates-for-governor-make-final-arguments-ahead-of-primary-election-day/
3. Perezâs endorsements include Cory McCray
https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/former-labor-secretary-dnc-chairman-tom-perez-launches-gubernatorial-bid
4. The Sheila Dixon story: It wasnât just about the gift cards
https://www.baltimorebrew.com/2020/05/18/the-sheila-dixon-story-it-wasnt-just-about-the-gift-cards/
5. Baltimore Mayor Guilty of Gift Card Theft
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/baltimore-mayor-guilty-of-gift-card-theft/
6. Dixon Found Guilty On 1 Of 4 Charges
https://www.wbaltv.com/article/dixon-found-guilty-on-1-of-4-charges/7062297