A Miami-Dade County Clerk of Court employee was arrested for allegedly stealing hundreds of dollars that were supposed be payments for traffic tickets and court costs, officials said.
A Miami-Dade County Clerk of Court employee was arrested for allegedly stealing hundreds of dollars that were supposed be payments for traffic tickets and court costs, officials said.
Scott Kessler, 57, was arrested Thursday on charges of grand theft, conspiracy to commit organized scheme to defraud, and official misconduct.
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Kessler, who's worked for the county since 2011, was assigned to the North Dade Justice Center. His duties included assisting residents with paying for traffic tickets and other court-related costs.
Around January, five people received letters about how they owed the clerk of the courts for traffic citations. However, they claimed they had already paid in full and were confused. All five victims were assisted by Kessler, according to police.
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Kessler would allegedly place people on payment plans without their consent.
Through an undercover operation it was discovered Kessler stole a minimum of $1,096, an arrest report said.
Video surveillance allegedly captured the clerk 25 times concealing cash from inside a secured cash drawer, the report said.
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Kessler was taken into custody by undercover officers. He allegedly claimed he "messed up" and confessed to the crimes, the arrest report said.
During his first appearance in court a judge granted him a $15,000 bond.
“When government employees steal, they not only seize the public’s money, but they squander the public’s trust in their local government,” Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a statement. “Such actions betray our community and can never be accepted or tolerated. My Public Corruption prosecutors, the Miami-Dade Police Department and Ad Interim Clerk of the Courts Luis Montaldo continue to be committed to the of elimination of any such potential activity in our court system or any other part of governmental activity.”
