Fraud, Waste & Abuse

The Lake County Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller and Board of County Commissioners are interested in receiving any citizen or employee concerns regarding fraud, waste, or abuse within their operations.

The Inspector General Department welcomes any citizen or employee concerns regarding fraud, waste, or abuse for programs and services provided by the Board of County Commissioners or the Clerk’s Office. The Department does not investigate other entities, such as the Sheriff, Tax Collector, Property Appraiser, Supervisor of Elections, or other quasi-governmental entities, unless requested or allowed by these entities.

Examples of fraud, waste, or abuse include accounting irregularities, falsifying records, theft, bribery, kickbacks, misuse of data or assets, and violation of regulations or policies.

The Inspector General Department does not investigate service complaints (e.g., timeliness), personnel issues (e.g., quality of work, staff interactions) or complaints regarding fees, fines, permits, assessments, taxes, or other charges.

Instructions for reporting a concern:

There are five ways to report a concern to the Clerk’s Inspector General Department:

• Hotline: Call (352) 253-4940
• Fax: Submit an Anonymous Report Form by fax to (352) 742-4534
• Email: [email protected] (your email address will be subject to public records requests)*
• Mail: Submit an Anonymous Report Form to Inspector General Department, P.O. Box 7800, Tavares, FL 32778-7800
• Web Form: Submit a report using our Online Reporting Form.

*NOTE: Under Florida law, email addresses sent to the Clerk’s Office are public records. If you do not want your email address released in response to public records requests, do not send an email. Feel free to contact this office by phone or in writing instead.

Describe your concern with as much detail as possible. Provide the names of all individuals involved, including any other witnesses. Give the dates and times the incident(s) occurred and where it happened. State whether there is any supporting documentation to be provided.

For email, keep a record of the date and time you send your communication. These two items will serve to help us identify your complaint if you choose to follow up on any concerns reported.

If no contact information is provided, you can call the hotline two weeks after reporting your concern(s) to check the status. Often after we start our investigation, questions arise or further clarification is necessary to continue the investigation. To help facilitate the investigation, you can follow-up with us after your initial contact.

It is not necessary to provide your name to submit your concerns; however, be advised that if you confidentially report an issue and provide any information that may identify you, the Clerk’s Office will only protect your identity as far as state law allows. The Clerk’s Office cannot guarantee confidentiality because (1) identification may be necessary to allow law enforcement officials to investigate or respond effectively to the report; (2) identification may be required by law; or (3) the person accused of violations may be entitled to the information as a matter of legal right in disciplinary proceedings.

Resources:

Other agencies you can contact regarding concerns about fraud, waste, or abuse:

• Fraud, Waste, and Abuse by Elected Officials
  Florida Commission on Ethics
  (850) 488-7864
• Abuse of Children, the Elderly or the Disabled
  Florida Abuse Hotline
  (800) 962-2873
• Consumer Service Complaints
  Consumer Complaint Line
  (850) 488-2221
• Fraud, Abuse, and Waste in State Government
  Comptroller’s Hotline
  (800) 848-3792
• HMO Fraud or Abuse
  HMO Hotline
  (800) 226-1062
• Health Care Issues
  Consumer Healthcare Hotline
  (800) 226-1062
• Telemarketing Fraud
  National Fraud Information Center Hotline
  (800) 876-7060
• Public Assistance Fraud
  Division of Public Assistance Fraud
  (407) 835-4410