DeSantis suspends Florida property appraiser accused of fraud

A county property appraiser in Florida illegally paid himself more than $176,000 over three years and made nearly $27,000 in fraudulent charges on his government-issued credit card, authorities said.

Wakulla County Property Appraiser Brad Harvey, 45, was arrested Friday and charged with two counts of organized scheme to defraud, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order Friday evening suspending Harvey from office.

Harvey took office in 2016 with an annual salary of over $100,000. Other staff members discovered that he had been issuing himself additional checks, investigators found. He gave himself an more than $50,000 extra the first year, more than $49,000 the second year and nearly $77,000 the third year, according to an arrest report.

Investigators said Harvey used his work credit card to pay $3,200 to take his family on a cruise in 2017. Records also showed he had used the card 11 times for automotive services for his personal vehicles.

Jail records didn’t list an attorney for Harvey.