Seminole County

Former Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg made nearly $4M worth of questionable purchases in office, audit shows

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — An audit of the Seminole County Tax Collector’s Office shows millions of dollars in questionable purchases under former Tax Collector Joel Greenberg.

Greenberg is facing numerous federal charges including sex trafficking and stalking a political opponent.

And according to the auditors, in total they found close to $4 million in questionable purchases.

READ: Child sex trafficking, ‘sugar daddy’ relationships: Former Seminole County tax collector Joel Greenberg faces new allegations in indictment

“Auditors observed transactions and expenditures that could be considered misuse of taxpayer dollars,” the audit said.

Auditors noted $1.4 million in legal fees, $615,000 for an in-house attorney, lobbying fees of more than $200,000 and other legal costs totaling almost $600,000.

They noted those charges seem excessive when compared to other counties. There were also credit card expenses they found questionable, that they said appeared to be personal in nature.

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

Auditors said that spending included $384,000 worth of charges for body armor, weapons ammunition and other tactical gear. They also discovered a purchase of a drone with thermal imaging capabilities. They said most of that equipment could not be located.

Auditors also said Greenberg spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on a cryptocurrency project called blockchain, that was not needed.

"This should be concerning to the taxpayer of what monies of taxpayers were utilized for non-taxpayer needs, said Jay Zembower, chair of the Seminole County Board of Commissioners.

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

He said the findings need to be investigated further and the county is looking at options to make the constitutional offices more transparent.


Jeff Levkulich

Jeff Levkulich, WFTV.com

Jeff Levkulich joined the Eyewitness News team as a reporter in June 2015.

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.