Multiple employees at the Broward Sheriff’s Office, including sworn deputies, are under indictment on charges of falsifying paperwork to collect money under the Paycheck Protection Program, the federal program meant to help keep small businesses alive during the COVID pandemic.
Seven deputies of the Sheriff’s Office are making their first appearance in federal court in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, and scores more expected to be charged as the day progresses, sources say.
All seven are charged with wire fraud in connection with the federal loan program.
Sources said internal suspensions began last week at the Sheriff’s Office as the arrests of both deputies and detention officers were near.
A few detention deputies reached out to the union “to find out their options” last week after they were suspended, said Tony Marciano, the secretary/treasurer of the detention deputies union. He said the deputies had their uniforms, guns and badges taken away. He could not quantify how many are under federal investigation. “The majority of detention deputies are hard working, good people. People make mistakes,” he said.
Many of those facing scrutiny had submitted paperwork for what are known as PPP loans for the most money possible under the program, according to one source.
Those indicted include:
- Deputy Keith Dunkley, who voluntarily surrendered Thursday morning and was ordered to give up his passport. His defense attorney, Mike Dutko, requested a trial by jury and entered a not guilty plea. According to federal court records, in the summer of 2020, Dunkley and a co-conspirator submitted fraudulent applications for PPP loans and for other federal loans that were supposed to go to the company Global Group Alliances, LLC. He falsified IRS tax forms and lied about the company’s income and monthly payroll, according to the information filed by the U.S Attorney’s Office.
- Deputy Stephanie Diane Smith, who still needs to hire an attorney and will be returning to federal court Oct. 26 to be arraigned. She faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Sources close to the investigation said Smith worked out of the Sheriff’s Pompano Beach district. The judge denied permission for her to leave the country to attend a wedding in Mexico.
- Deputy La’Keitha Lawhorn, a 16-year Sheriff’s veteran who lives in Miami Lakes, works out of the West Park district. She faces 20 years in prison if convicted of three counts of wire fraud. State records show she created her business, Home Empire Enterprises, LLC, before the pandemic, in November 2019. She was approved for her federal loan in July 2020. The judge Thursday denied permission for her to leave the country to attend a wedding in Jamaica. She still needs an attorney and will be returning to court Oct. 24.
PPP experts have said the maximum amount a self-employed person without any employees could receive is $20,833. But to get it, a person would have to earn a $100,000 gross income using a formula to cover 2½ months’ payroll.
The South Florida U.S. Attorney’s Office has been pursuing cases of pandemic relief fraud involving the program, which was run by the Small Business Administration, and high-profile convictions have included the daughter of Broward’s former mayor; a Sheriff’s Office detention technician who received a loan for a business that had no evidence of existing prior to 2021, records say; and a political consultant.
Largest police corruption take-down in decades?
On Thursday morning, deputies in tactical gear were stationed at the front of the BSO headquarters building on West Broward Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, traffic cones blocking traffic, and a sign was posted saying the building was temporarily closed.
If dozens of employees are arrested, this Sheriff’s Office crackdown could be one of the largest in a single agency in South Florida since the Miami River Cops scandal.
In the late 1980s, nearly 10% of the Miami Police Department were arrested, fired, suspended, or reprimanded after a drug-related scandal, which included officers planning to fly small planes loaded with 400-500 kilogram shipments of cocaine from Colombia to either Mexico or the Bahamas, then to transport the drugs to Miami for nationwide distribution.
The nickname originated from an incident in which officers stormed a drug-laden ship that was docked on the Miami River, causing three smugglers to drown when they jumped overboard.
Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com. Follow on X, formerly Twitter, @LisaHuriash
This is a developing story, so check back for updates. Click here to have breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.