Seminole County tax collector indicted for stalking, federal prosecutors say
SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. - Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg has been indicted by federal prosecutors for stalking, and for the unlawful use of a means of identification of another person, the U.S. Department of Justice says.
United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announced the charges on Tuesday. The indictment stated that Greenberg attempted to cause substantial emotional distress to a political opponent who worked at a Florida school. He had letters sent to the school where the employee worked. These claimed to be from an anonymous student of the school. The letter claimed that the school employee had engaged in sexual misconduct with a student.
However, the indictment stated that Greenberg knew this was false.
In addition, Greenberg set up a Facebook account that claimed to belong to a concerned teacher at the school, the indictment said. He made postings with that account falsely claiming that a school employee had engaged in sexual misconduct with a student.
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The indictment also said that Greenberg had an imposter Twitter account made of his opponent, where he claimed that he was a segregationist and in favor of white supremacy.
“This is not a surprise,” said Lynn Moira Dictor, Democratic Candidate for Seminole County Tax Collector. She is not the victim in the indictment but she is the Democratic candidate who Greenberg could face in November and she believes his time in his leadership role has come to an end.
“This guy is a disgrace and a stain on the public officials in Seminole County,” said Dictor, “It’s disgusting and Seminole County deserves better than that, Joel has got to go.”
If Greenberg is convicted on both counts, he reportedly faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.
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