Sheriff Addresses Dunedin Theft; City Strengthens Protocols

Published on July 07, 2025

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri spoke at the Dunedin City Commission meeting on Thursday, July 3, to address an incident of theft that occurred in June 2024.

“This was a very deliberate and intentional, well-organized scam by people who are very experienced at this,” said Sheriff Gualtieri.

Approximately $663,000 was stolen from the City of Dunedin by a person or organization posing as a paving company contracted to do resurfacing work. The City of Dunedin is working closely with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office in an effort to recover those funds. So far, one arrest has been made in connection with the case.

Since the incident, the City has taken significant steps to enhance its already robust internal controls for Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments to vendors. Those measures include:

• A checklist worksheet must be completed by the staff member initiating a new ACH or ACH change, then reviewed and signed by the Purchasing Agent, Accounting Manager and Finance Director.
• New ACH and vendor change forms must come directly from the Purchasing division.
• Vendors are notified that the process can take up to three months.
• Vendors must submit current banking information via ACH form directly to the Purchasing email.
• ACH changes require both previous and new banking information to verify a match with the existing vendor file.
• A voided check or official bank letter must accompany all ACH forms.
• Vendor contact information on the form must match the name, address and phone number in the current vendor file.
• The ACH form must be notarized and completed by the CEO, CFO or president of the company.
• Staff must call the phone number listed in the vendor file to verify the ACH form, documenting the number contacted on the checklist.
• Staff confirm the email address in the vendor file and email the vendor to summarize the phone call, requesting a reply for documentation.
• All documents are reviewed by the Purchasing Agent, Accounting Manager and Finance Director, with each performing independent verification and contacting the vendor.
• After final confirmation, the Buyer enters the ACH information into the vendor file and signs off on the checklist to confirm input is complete.
• A second staff member performs input validation and provides a separate signoff.
• The form is dated upon completion of the input.

“We’ve put plenty in place and we’ll remain vigilant,” said City Manager Jennifer Bramley.

The City maintains a self-insurance Risk Fund to cover financial losses and claims related to liability, property, cyberattacks and fraud. It also carries crime and cyberattack insurance policies to protect against theft, electronic crime and employee misconduct.

In this case, a portion of the stolen funds was recovered through the investigation. The City’s crime insurance policy replenished another portion, and the remaining amount was covered by the Risk Fund reserve.

Click here to listen to all of the Sheriff’s remarks at the City Commission meeting, as well as questions from City Commissioners and input from the City Manager. The issue is discussed at the top of the meeting.