Fmr. Dade Fire Code Enforcement Officer Facing Corruption Charges

MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- A former Miami-Dade County Fire Rescue Code Enforcement Officer is accused bilking the county out of thousands of dollars in taxpayer fees.

Jeffrey Lowman was arrested Wednesday and charged with Unlawful Compensation, Official Misconduct and Grand Theft. During his first appearance, a judge set Lowman's bond at $17,500.

A joint investigation by the Miami-Dade County Office of the Inspector General, the Miami-Dade Police Department and Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office revealed a scheme by Lowman to defraud taxpayers of 40-thousand dollars in fire code violation penalty fees owed to the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department.

As a MDFR Code Enforcement Officer, Lowman was responsible for conducting fire safety inspections of businesses and multi-family dwellings and citing those not in compliance. Those who don't comply within 30 days are assessed penalty fees.

The joint investigation found Lowman was running a fire inspection consulting business out of his home at the same time he was employed by the County.

Lowman's company, Florida Fire Inspection Consultants, was hired by Americas Property Management Corp., a property management company, to help resolve violations and inspections on a Medley warehouse complex.

Lowman's company was paid approximately $3,000 to help resolve those violations, according to investigators.

Lowman also allegedly submitted fraudulent paperwork to the Clerk of Courts which stated the cited properties had been brought up to compliance. In reality, inspectors stated, Lowman's fraudulent affidavits removed a combined $40,000 in accrued penalties owed the County.

Lowman, a 13-year-old employee of the county, resigned in October 2013.