Fort Lauderdale police sergeant charged with grand theft and scheme to defraud

A Fort Lauderdale police sergeant who has been with the department since 2007 has been charged with three counts of grand theft and one count of organized scheme to defraud, the department announced Thursday.

Sgt. James McDowell turned himself in at the Broward County Main Jail Thursday morning, the department said. Online jail records say his bond was set at $13,000 and he posted Thursday afternoon.

The department says preliminary investigation shows McDowell double dipped, signing on for off-duty details while still on-duty with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.

“This resulted in several hundred fraudulently billed hours and the loss of thousands of dollars,” the department said.

McDowell is on administrative leave without pay until the criminal case reaches a conclusion.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more is learned.

This story was originally published January 13, 2022 at 11:34 AM.

David J. Neal

Miami Herald

305-376-3559

Since 1989, David J. Neal’s domain at the Miami Herald has expanded to include writing about Panthers (NHL and FIU), Dolphins, old school animation, food safety, fraud, naughty lawyers, bad doctors and all manner of breaking news. He drinks coladas whole. He does not work Indianapolis 500 Race Day.