SANTA ROSA COUNTY, Fla. -- A former Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office lieutenant took a plea deal Tuesday in his elderly exploitation case.
Authorities announced in January that Scott Haines, who was in charge of an elderly woman's finances, fraudulently obtained over $10,000 by depositing the woman's rental payments into his own personal bank account.
Appearing in Santa Rosa County court Tuesday, Haines pleaded no contest to 29 counts of unauthorized use of a computer system. As part of the deal, his five elderly exploitation charges were dropped.
Haines was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay nearly $47,000 in fees. He was also ordered to relinquish his criminal justice certification.
Haines will appear in federal court on Wednesday.
Assistant State Prosecutor Guillermo Vallejo tells Channel 3 that as part of a plea deal, Haines will plead no contest to lying to the FBI (making false statements). In turn, his wire fraud charges will be dropped.
The
crimes allegedly happened between Between Jan. 1, 2015 and May 12,
2021. Haines was charged with four counts of wire fraud, as well as with
making fraudulent statements that he never took part in any of the
matters.
The indictment stated that Haines escorted the
elderly woman to the office of her attorney while in his Santa Rosa
County Sheriff's Office uniform. He was then appointed Power of
Attorney.
Haines allegedly designated himself as the "Payable on Death" beneficiary for the victim's personal bank account, deposited rental payments into his own personal bank account and more.
Following a December 2019 investigation, Haines was demoted from captain to lieutenant within the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office following a sexual harassment investigation.
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