Summary

On January 25, 2013, Tina Marie Pollard, a former Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) employee, pled guilty to conspiracy and money laundering for her role in receiving $30,000 in bribes from a business which was displaced by a roadway widening project.

Pollard worked out of the FDOT office in DeLand as a right of way agent whose job was to help people and businesses relocate after being displaced by transportation projects.  One of those projects was the widening of Interstate 4, which was displacing MLA Furniture on Garland Avenue in Orlando.  The furniture store was renting a location which had been purchased in 2006 by the FDOT as part of a plan to widen 20 miles of I-4.  In return for receiving $30,000, Pollard conspired with MLA to process fictitious claims representing MLA Furniture had applied for reimbursement of relocation expenses, when in fact, MLA had not incurred any expenses.  The investigation determined Pollard deposited the funds into her personal bank account.