Memphis, TN – Glenda Adams, 49, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the federal statute known as the Travel Act. Joseph C. Murphy, Jr., United States Attorney announced the guilty plea today.
According to information presented in court, between February 2017 and October 2020, Glenda Adams was an Assistant District Attorney (ADA) employed by the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office in Memphis, Tennessee. During that time, a local attorney paid Adams to provide him with law enforcement restricted information contained in traffic accident reports.
Automobile accidents occurring in the Memphis city limits were typically investigated by the Memphis Police Department (MPD). The Crash Reports generated by the MPD investigations were uploaded into a law enforcement database known as “Watson.” Access to Watson was limited to law enforcement officials. Subsequently, the Crash Reports were available for purchase from the City of Memphis. Through her employment as an Assistant District Attorney, Adams had access to Watson and the Crash Reports.
In exchange for payments from the attorney, Adams would access MPD Crash Reports from the Watson system, then provide those reports to the attorney in exchange for cash payment. The local attorney would use the Crash Reports to solicit accident victims identified in the Reports and offer them legal representation.
On February 23, 2022, Adams pled guilty.
“Citizens rely on those who hold positions of public trust to execute their duties with integrity and in the best interests of the public,” said Douglas M. Korneski, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Memphis Field Office. “The FBI will continue to work with its law enforcement partners to identify and investigate those who abuse that trust out of personal greed.”
Sentencing is set for May 27, 2022, before United States District Judge Jon P. McCalla, where Adams faces up to five years in federal prison along with three years’ supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Assistant United States Attorney David Pritchard is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
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