Former Broward mayor accused of firing staffer to clear developer for $102M loan
A new report sheds more light into how a former Broward official allegedly bent the rules — and fired a staffer in the process — to help a developer secure $102 million in loans while in public office.
Lynn Stoner, the former mayor of Plantation, was in May charged with official misconduct, a third-degree felony, as well as falsification of records and two counts of influencing a building official, which are misdemeanors. Stoner won her bid for mayor in 2018 but lost her 2022 re-election campaign. She made her debut in Broward politics when she was elected to the Plantation City Council in 2011.
If convicted, she faces up to eight years in prison.
:READ MORE: Former Broward mayor led her city. Now she’s accused of bending rules for a developer
The charges stem from a investigation by the Broward Office of the Inspector General into Stoner’s relationship with a developer building townhouse communities in the city. Between April and September 2020, prosecutors say Stoner used her position to benefit a developer, his companies and his projects.
Stoner tried to sway a Plantation building official to “do her a favor” and write an official letter stating that Strata Group, LLC had taken care of building code violations dating back to 2018 and paid $181,500 worth of fines, according to the inspector general’s preliminary report filed Thursday.
But the building official refused, citing that writing the letter would be illegal because the violation and fines weren’t resolved.
Stoner, prosecutors say, penned the letter herself that same day, clearing the way for the developer to obtain a loan.
The developer, the report says, then sent Stoner’s signed letter to a private equity firm. Days later, he closed on two loans: One for $7 million and another for $95 million.
A few months later, Stoner went back to the same building official and tried to push him to approve the developer for construction work on a project known as Pixl — despite not having a proper permit, the report said.
The official requested that all work on the project be stopped. That’s when Stoner then fired him, according to the report.
This isn’t the only time Stoner has been in hot water over her political career.
In February, she admitted to violating several state campaign finance laws during her 2018 bid for mayor. According to the Office of the Inspector General, she was ordered to pay a $1,200 penalty.
