FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Former Plantation Mayor Lynn Stoner pleaded no contest Tuesday to three criminal charges stemming from a public corruption case filed in 2023, according to the Broward State Attorney’s Office.
SAO spokesperson Paula McMahon confirmed to Local 10 News that Stoner, 72, pleaded no contest to one count of official misconduct and two misdemeanor counts of influencing a building official. A judge withheld adjudication and sentenced Stoner to 12 months of probation.
McMahon said there was no negotiated plea agreement and that the sentencing guidelines would have been the same had the case gone to trial.
Stoner, whose full name is Vera Lynn Stoner, was charged on June 26, 2023.
In a news release issued that day, Broward State Attorney Harold F. Pryor announced that Stoner had turned herself in at the county jail after being charged for misconduct that prosecutors said occurred during her time in elected office.
According to the release, prosecutors filed formal criminal charges following an investigation conducted with the Broward Office of the Inspector General.
The release stated that between April and September 2020, Stoner “took a number of illegal actions to benefit a developer and his companies and projects in the city.”
Specifically, prosecutors alleged that Stoner issued a letter from her office that falsely stated Strata Group, LLC had cleared code violations and fines on one of its projects. This was false and the goal was to help the developer obtain a loan, according to court records.
Prosecutors further stated that in April 2020, Stoner “attempted to coerce, trick, persuade, or otherwise influence” a Plantation building official to write an official letter stating that the developer’s code violations had been resolved or eliminated. According to the release, when the building official refused, Stoner issued the letter herself.
Prosecutors also alleged that between July and September 2020, Stoner “threatened, coerced, tricked, persuaded, or otherwise influenced” the same building official in an effort to allow construction work without a proper permit on a project known as Pixl.
Those allegations formed the basis of the official misconduct charge, the falsification of records charge, and two counts of influencing a building official.
Official misconduct is classified as a third-degree felony under Florida law.
According to city records, Stoner was first elected to the Plantation City Council in 2011 and served until 2017. She was elected mayor in 2018 and served until 2022.
Stoner lost her re-election bid in 2022.
In a statement to Local 10 News following Tuesday’s plea, Stoner’s attorney, Larry Davis, said, “Lynn Stoner loved serving the City of Plantation as councilmember and mayor. She recently suffered a medical emergency and decided to put this behind her to focus on family and health.”
With adjudication withheld, Stoner will not have a formal conviction on her record if she successfully completes probation. If she violates probation, the court could impose additional penalties.
Editor’s note: The initial version of this article misstated two of Stoner’s charges as “falsely acting as a certificate holder“ based on charges entered into Broward online court records. It has been corrected to state that she pleaded guilty to two counts of influencing a building official.
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