MIAMI – Prosecutors allege a former Miami-Dade Fire Rescue code enforcement officer defrauded taxpayers of $40,000 in fire code violation penalty fees while enriching himself through his private company.
Police arrested Jeffrey Lowman, a 13-year county employee, on Wednesday. He was charged with unlawful compensation, 10 counts of official misconduct, and 10 counts of grand theft.
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The Miami-Dade Office of the Inspector General began investigating Lowman, 45, in August 2013, said a news release from the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office. As a code enforcement officer, he inspected businesses and homes to ensure they complied with state fire prevention codes and county ordinances.
Investigators found that Lowman ran a fire inspection consulting business, Florida Fire Inspection Consultants, that was registered to his home address. Prosecutors say Americas Property Management Corp. hired his company and paid it $3,000 to help resolve violations.
Lowman concealed his identity as the owner of the consulting business to the Miami-Dade Finance Department, instead saying he was a consultant hired by Americas Property Management Corp., say prosecutors. He told a finance department employee that he was working with fire inspector Lowman on fixing the outstanding violations and emailed the employee, who unaware it was the same person.
Investigators found that Lowman filed 10 fraudulent affidavits to the Miami-Dade Clerk of Courts in January, falsely stating that cited properties had been brought up to compliance within the 30-day period when they hadn't, say prosecutors. The fraudulent affidavits removed $40,000 in accrued penalties owed to the county.
He resigned in October 2013.
"I'm proud of the work done in this case by this corruption-fighting team of prosecutors, Miami-Dade Police and the Office of the Inspector General," said Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. "Every new corruption case should throw additional ripples of fear and concern through those public employees who think they can get away with this type of crime. Nothing angers the public and law enforcement more than dishonest public servants who should keep looking over their shoulders because the law is on the way."
"We have a continued commitment to work with our local partners in investigating and prosecuting those whose behavior erodes the public trust in Miami-Dade County. Our agencies have been working very hard together and I am pleased that their hard work continues to result in positive outcomes for our community," said Miami-Dade Police Director J.D. Patterson.
"The OIG is grateful to the honest and hardworking county employees who refuse to tolerate the fraudulent, self-dealing activities of a few," said Interim Inspector General Patra Liu. "We appreciate that they report suspicious activities to the OIG, and we reaffirm our commitment to investigating these cases with our partners."