A state Department of Revenue tax specialist has been arrested and charged with eight counts of loan sharking, reportedly using his office computer to track the transactions.
Dorian Harper is accused of assessing interest rates of more than 25 percent on loans made between Jan. 1, 2009, and Oct. 7, 2011. He was also charged with one count of making loans without a license, law-enforcement documents show.
Booked into Leon County Jail on March 27, Harper posted a $4,500 bond the next day.
Department of Revenue spokeswoman Renee Watters said in a statement:
"Mr. Harper has been sent a letter of proposed dismissal. Under the law he is entitled to a predetermination conference before final action is taken."
Watters said Harper's activities were uncovered "during a forensic review of his hard drive by the department's inspector general's office."
Asked whether any of Harper's co-workers were involved, she said DOR "continues to review appropriate action with respect to other employees involved in this matter."
The state attorney's office said details of the alleged loan-sharking operation -- including where the loan funds came from -- would not be available until next week.
Harper's arraignment is scheduled for April 19 in Leon County Circuit Court.
Dave Marsey, of the state attorney's office, said the charges against Harper are second-degree misdemeanors, punishable by up to 60 days in jail for each criminal count, plus court costs.
Sources close to the situation described Harper's operation as "a payday-advance business that was outed by members of [DOR's] information technology staff in the building.
"It is well-known that screen shots of computer screens are made and reviewed by DOR when any DOR employee accesses the Internet, in order to stop misuse of state facilities," said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"It appears Dorian was not aware of this and that his viewing of stat sheets or information on loans made or payments received while he was updating or viewing that information was also being copied by the IT staff for review."
Watters said evidence was obtained through inspections of the hard drive on Harper's computer and that no screen shots were available.
Harper, a 12-year DOR employee who is paid $46,453 as a tax specialist, could not be reached.
Last year, Sunshine State News reported that another DOR tax specialist had been convicted of felony fraud in Georgia.
Deon McCrimmon, hired on April 8, 2005, was found guilty in federal court of "defrauding and obtaining money by means of false and fraudulent pretenses" seven months earlier.
Convicted of concealing an unpaid $139,169 IRS bill and overstating her income when she applied for a home loan in Albany, Ga., McCrimmon continues to pay off a court-ordered fine.
To ensure payment, the federal government has slapped a lien on McCrimmon's current home in the Gadsden County town of Greensboro. The $24,775 lien is the exact amount she was ordered to pay in restitution for her Sept. 6, 2004, conviction.
McCrimmon was allowed to keep her $43,701-a-year job, but DOR, after an inspector general's investigation, said it has tightened its employment screening process.
Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
