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Department of Citrus manager arrested on grand theft related to virtual currency activity

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Agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrested Matthew McDermott, 51, of Davenport today on a grand theft charge stemming from a virtual currency operation. Virtual currency types include Bitcoin and Litecoin.

McDermott is also facing a charge of official misconduct. He is the Information Technology manager for the Florida Department of Citrus, which is charged with regulation of the state’s citrus industry. It is based in Bartow.

The investigation was launched after FDLE agents received a complaint from the Citrus agency’s Office of Inspector General. The complaint followed an audit of P-Card (purchasing card) activity that found McDermott had made more than $22,000 in purchases between July 2017 and December 2017. Among those purchases were 24 computer graphics cards known as Graphic Processing Units (GPUs).

In addition, the IG noted that utility bills for the agency had increased by 41% between October 2017 and January 2017. The increase amounted to nearly $825.00.

FDLE agents learned that McDermott was accessing a virtual currency exchange from multiple computers at the Department of Citrus and was part of a mining pool. A mining pool, or team, is used to solve mathematical equations in an effort to mine the virtual currency and win a reward. The pool combines its resources to help offset costs.

“Through the diligence of the executive management team at the Florida Department of Citrus, our agency was able to minimize losses to the state,” said FDLE Commissioner Rick Swearingen. “Thanks to the Citrus agency’s quick and appropriate action, we were able to investigate and arrest Matthew McDermott.”

Shannon Shepp, Executive Director of the Department of Citrus, said: “We are grateful for the swift and professional actions of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. This is a breach of ethics that is far outside the character of the Florida Department of Citrus and the industry we serve. Fortunately, our agency has internal controls that detected suspicious activity, and our Inspector General immediately notified the proper channels. We will continue to work with FDLE and the court system through this process.”

The Inspector General’s Office of the Florida Department of Citrus assisted with this investigation. McDermott will be booked into the Polk County Jail on a $5,000 bond. The State Attorney’s Office, 10th Judicial Circuit, will prosecute.

FDLE arrests Florida City PD corporal for official misconduct

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The Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrested Ken David Armenteros, 37, a corporal of the Florida City Police Department, for two counts of official misconduct.
Armenteros, who was off-duty on the afternoon of Monday, September 13, 2016, and on his personal motorcycle, requested emergency back-up via the Miami-Dade Police Department’s 911 Center after a confrontation outside a known “drug house” in Florida City with a man who was later arrested by responding Florida City police officers.
A criminal complaint including allegations made against Armenteros by his colleagues was filed with FDLE. FDLE’s investigation revealed that Armenteros materially and fraudulently misrepresented the facts leading up to and surrounding the request for back-up and subsequent arrest of Christopher Maurice Lewis on the official charging documents. The charges against Lewis were later dropped by the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office when the evidence of deception by Armenteros came to light.
Armenteros surrendered himself today to FDLE agents and was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Detention Center. He will be prosecuted by the Office of the State Attorney, 11th Judicial Circuit.

FDLE arrests Dixie County City Manager for official misconduct

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The Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrested Gary Pinner, 58, of 431 SE 552ND Street, Old Town on one count of official misconduct. Pinner is charged with misusing city employees, city equipment, city inventory, and an inmate work crew to provide free water services to certain Dixie County residents, including his future son-in-law.
The FDLE investigation determined that on three separate occasions, Pinner, in his official role as Cross City City Manager, instructed Water Department employees to perform work on private properties utilizing city resources outside and beyond the scope of their job related duties.
Over the past several months, Pinner instructed two Cross City Water Department employees to install a water line (beyond the water meter) to his daughter and future son-in-law’s residence (hundreds of feet through a livestock/horse pasture) utilizing city owned equipment (trenching machine), city owned supplies (PVC pipe), and a state inmate work crew (helped remove roots and other obstructions from the trench and laid the PVC pipe in the ground). Within the last two years, Pinner also instructed city employees to install water lines to two other residences, using city labor. In addition, he allowed at least three city water customers to maintain excessive unpaid account balances for extended periods of time without having their water service terminated.
The investigation has not revealed any other criminal wrongdoing, other than the actions of Pinner.
Pinner was arrested today and transported to the Dixie County Jail. The case will be prosecuted by the Office of the State Attorney, Third Judicial Circuit.

FDLE Agents arrest caseworker on official misconduct, falsifying records

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Agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrested Vanessa Arias, 33, of 1355 Springfield Street, Kissimmee, on charges of official misconduct and falsification of records.
Arias is a former employee with Gulf Coast Jewish Family & Community Services, a sub-contractor of the Department of Children and Families. She was assigned as a caseworker.
During an investigation, FDLE agents found that Arias documented she had visited a home in Kissimmee on January 8, 2015, to check on the welfare of several children. She reported the children were “free from any visible signs of abuse/neglect with all their basic needs being met at this time.” Approximately a week later, officers with the Kissimmee Police Department went to the home regarding a report of child neglect. It was later determined that Arias had falsified her report and had not returned more than a dozen calls from two of the children in the home.
“This is a sad case of vulnerable children reaching out to someone in a position to help them, but instead they were ignored,” said Special Agent in Charge Danny Banks of FDLE’s Orlando Region. “Thankfully, law enforcement was called and an investigation was launched.”
Arias was booked into the Osceola County Jail on Friday on a $2,000 bond. The Office of the State Attorney, 9th Circuit, will prosecute.