Miami-Dade court clerk accused of pocketing over $109,000 in divorce filing fees
Every time a Miami-Dade resident files for divorce, he or she must pay a filing fee. But in over 200 cases, investigators believe, that money actually wound up in the pockets of a longtime court clerk, authorities said Monday.
Tyrone Smith Jr., 35, surrendered over the weekend to face charges of first-degree grand theft and organized scheme to defraud.
In all, an audit by the Miami-Dade Inspector General’s Office revealed, Smith processed 201 cases in which the filing fees were never filed — to the tune of nearly $109,000 in stolen cash and checks meant to be deposited in the coffers of the clerk of courts.
Smith, a full-time employee since 2007, worked as a deputy clerk in the section of Miami-Dade’s family court where people file new lawsuits and complaints. His duties: collecting money, tallying up receipts and preparing bank deposits. Smith abruptly resigned as supervisors began probing missing money in June 2018.
As they investigated, a customer came in to complain that his “case was not progressing through the court system,” according to an arrest warrant — and Smith was the one who processed the man’s payment. A database check revealed the filing fee had never been collected, but the man produced an official-looking receipt that was actually bogus, the warrant said.
The investigation was eventually referred to the Inspector General’s Office. The investigation also found a bogus receipt file on Smith’s work computer, which investigators believe he printed out to give to customers from whom he stole, the warrant said.
Agents say the thefts fouled up the divorce process for many customers, including a man who in March 2018 paid Smith nearly $500, part of which was to have police serve the petition. A month later, the customer returned to demand to know why his wife hadn’t been served the divorce papers. Smith claimed “he had been very busy and claimed the error was his fault,” according to the arrest warrant.
The customer wound up paying an extra $80 to hire a private courier service to serve the divorce papers.
