BSO employee accused of defrauding multiple individuals out of nearly $19K
MIAMI - The Broward Sheriff's Office announced Tuesday the arrest of a veteran employee.
The agency said Mickalon Bullard is accused of defrauding multiple individuals out of nearly $19,000 related to the filing of their tax returns.
The investigation into Bullard began in March 2022, after receiving information from an individual who hired Bullard to do her taxes.
"The individual noticed a discrepancy on her taxes that showed one refunded amount to be deposited into her account and a second sum to be deposited into an unknown account. Detectives determined that Bullard, without the individual's permission, had split the refund and routed a large portion of funds to be deposited into her personal account," investigators said.
"BSO's Public Corruption Unit continued investigating and identified similar incidents involving at least two other people who paid Bullard to do their taxes between 2018 and 2022. The investigation revealed that Bullard used her access to the victims' personal identifying information in order to surreptitiously reroute funds to herself. At no time did the victims give Bullard consent to use their personal information for this purpose."
The investigation revealed Bullard rerouted $18,993 in her clients' tax refund money to her personal accounts.
"BSO's Public Corruption Unit fully investigated these allegations against a civilian employee, found probable cause and worked to hold this individual accountable for her actions," Sheriff Gregory Tony said. "The work of these investigators proves once again that when employees break the law, they will face appropriate consequences."
Bullard has been suspended without pay.
Investigators believe there may be additional victims in the community.
Anyone who believes they may have been victimized in similar incidents involving Bullard should contact the BSO Public Corruption Unit at 954-321-1104.
