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Ex-Seminole County tax collector stole surrendered IDs ‘until his last day in office,’ tried to make fake concealed weapon permits, feds say

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Former Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg was stealing surrendered drivers’ licenses until his last day in office and was also trying to make fake concealed weapon permits, according to newly released court documents.

Last month, Greenberg resigned and dropped his bid for reelection after an earlier indictment accused him of stalking and impersonating a political opponent on social media.

Last week it was announced that he faces four additional charges related to identify theft and producing false documents, according to documents.

READ: Former Seminole County Tax Collector accused of creating fake IDs, documents say

He is accused of creating fake identification cards for himself by using drivers' licenses that were surrendered to his office by customers, according to a federal indictment.

Documents show that his co-workers said Greenberg would take licenses from the shred pile, claiming he was using them for “demographics,” which investigators said was a lie.

When an employee saw the surrendered licenses in Greenberg’s office and asked about them, Greenberg responded that the collection of licenses was a “lost and found,” according to the court documents.

Investigators said that was also a lie.

READ: ‘I know I did nothing wrong’: Orange County Property Appraiser Rick Singh hosts news conference after being cleared of criminal charges

In a document released Monday, Assistant U.S. State Attorney Roger Handberg wrote that Greenberg was “aware of the fraudulent nature of his scheme due to being confronted by employees of the Seminole County Tax Collector’s Office; that the Defendant was not acting in good faith; and that the Defendant’s actions were not done by mistake or accident but were done knowingly and willfully.”

In the newly released document, federal investigators also say they found pieces of card stock for concealed weapons permits in Greenberg’s office.

READ: Osceola County commissioner posts bond after being charged with impersonating officer

“Some of the cards left by Greenberg in his former office prove that Greenberg was practicing at producing identifications using concealed weapons permit card stock and that he was experimenting in using the security stripe for concealed weapons permits in an effort to make the identifications that he was producing appear to be legitimate,” Handberg wrote.

Stay tuned to Channel 9 Eyewitness News for updates.



Sarah Wilson

Sarah Wilson, WFTV.com

Sarah Wilson joined WFTV Channel 9 in 2018 as a digital producer after working as an award-winning newspaper reporter for nearly a decade in various communities across Central Florida.