Miami-Dade cracks down on fraudulent handicap parking permits
People getting handicap parking permits without a disability are in hot water. Miami-Dade County Tax Collector Darial Fernandez said his team is revoking permits obtained through fraud.
Some people will face fines up to $1,000 or jail time.
"We try to do this also as educational, explain to the people who are doing this illegally that you could spend time in jail," Fernandez said.
Last month, complaints pushed his office to audit two years' worth of applications for disabled parking permits. State law requires people with them to have long-term or temporary mobility impairments.
So far, Fernandez's staff red-flagged problems in almost one of three applications audited. All of the flagged applications face immediate in-depth investigation. Some have already received notices of cancellation. Others could go to jail or face fines.
"I saw a friend of mine, she told me that my neighbor asked me for my disabiled card," said Ana Ginart, who has a handicap parking permit. "I said what? She said yes because they make copies."
For Ginart, grocery shopping is a pain without her cane. It is worse without an open parking space near the door.
Celia Arguerro, who also has a handicap parking permit, is tired of waiting for reform to catch people cheating the system. She showed CBS News Miami xrays of damage to her vertebrae and a doctor's letter explaining her need for a handicap parking permit.
"Those getting tags illegally should be prosecuted," Arguerro said.
Fernandez said his office has thousands more applications to vet. They are working closely with police, Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office and Florida's Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to stop handicap parking permit abuse.