Baltimore School Board Member Resigns After Failing to Disclose District Payments
Following an FBI search at one of his corporate offices earlier this month, a member of the Baltimore City school board stepped down after Spotlight on Maryland uncovered records showing he omitted his executive positions in two groups that took in upwards of $100,000 in public funds from the district.
Muhammad Failed to Disclose Payments from His Organizations
On financial disclosure documents covering fiscal years 2023 and 2024, Mujahid Muhammad stated that he maintained no connections to entities conducting commerce with Baltimore City Public Schools. District payment records show otherwise. Organizations he led, KEYS Empowers and KEYS Development, began receiving public money in 2022. Payments totaled more than $104,000 through July 2026.
The discrepancy remained uncorrected until this year. The school system launched an ethics review in June, prompting Muhammad to amend his disclosures. Muhammad did not respond to a request for comment regarding the filings.
Documentation acquired via a public records request indicates that the Muhammad-run nonprofit KEYS Empowers was paid $6,050 in August 2022 to put on a basketball camp. Between November 2024 and July 2026, a second entity known as KEYS Development collected roughly $98,500 from the district for providing mental health care.
City Schools Terminates Contract After Ethics Review
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott appointed Muhammad to the board in 2023. A spokeswoman for City Schools stated that Muhammad recused himself from a June 2025 vote on a contract with Keys Development. City Schools has since terminated the contract for convenience in light of recent developments.
The ethics panel previously reviewed Muhammad’s financial disclosure forms for 2023 and 2024. Review of his 2025 form, submitted in March 2026, was still underway when he resigned from the Board of School Commissioners. Under state law and board policy, details of ongoing ethics panel proceedings remain confidential. The panel requested supplemental disclosures to clarify Muhammad’s relationship with the KEYS entities during his time on the board. The ethics review of Muhammad is pending, according to the City School spokeswoman.
Federal authorities have not disclosed the nature of their investigation following the FBI raid at 7501 Liberty Road in Baltimore City. Medicaid filings for Keys Development and the most current publicly accessible IRS form 990 for KEYS Empowers both cite that location.
Muhammad's Organizations Received Millions in Public Funding
The school district payments represent a fraction of the public money that flowed to Muhammad’s organizations. Across the span from 2018 through 2024, KEYS Development brought in a minimum of $32 million in Medicaid reimbursements funded by taxpayers for mental health services. Yearly disbursements to the business multiplied by more than four over that timeframe, rising from $2.1 million in 2018 to $8.7 million in 2024.
KEYS Empowers describes itself on its website as providing holistic, community programs and services. In 2023, the Baltimore City government distributed $1 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to the nonprofit.
Taxpayer Advocate Response
David Williams, president of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, criticized Muhammad’s initial failure to disclose his business ties to the school district he oversaw. Williams added that school commissioners should focus on education rather than personal business.
You have low test scores. And now we hear about money that’s going to people that probably shouldn’t be receiving taxpayer money. This should be a wake-up call to the city.
From 2018 to 2024, mental health treatment provided by KEYS Development accounted for at least $32 million in taxpayer-supported Medicaid disbursements.