BALTIMORE, MD—Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced this week that Rodney Bryan Barkley, a certified lead paint inspector and operator of Green Environmental, LLC, has been sentenced in Baltimore City Circuit Court for crimes that compromised Maryland’s childhood lead poisoning prevention efforts.
Judge Sylvester Cox sentenced Barkley to five years of incarceration, all of which was suspended, and two years of supervised probation. Barkley previously pleaded guilty in October 2025 to four counts of submission of a false lead paint risk reduction certificate and one count of operating a radiation machine without a license.
Investigation Uncovers Widespread Fraud
The case began in February 2024 when the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) flagged suspicious documents submitted by Barkley. A subsequent investigation by the Attorney General’s Environmental and Natural Resources Crimes Unit revealed that Barkley used software to alter official laboratory reports, changing lead content values, dates, and addresses to issue fraudulent certificates.
Furthermore, investigators discovered Barkley was using an X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) device—a tool used to detect lead—that was not approved by the state. He also lacked the required radioactive material license to operate such machinery.
Impact on Public Health
The consequences of the fraud are significant. In response to the investigation, the MDE suspended Barkley’s accreditation and invalidated 1,400 lead certificates he had issued. Most alarmingly, evidence presented during the case indicated that children living in properties certified as safe by Barkley were later found to have elevated lead levels in their blood…