Pompano Beach Vice Mayor Beverly Perkins is under investigation after the county's inspector general said in a preliminary report that she misused leftover campaign funds after the 2020 election.
The Broward County Office of Inspector General (OIG) gave city staff the preliminary report on its findings, which NBC 6 obtained through a records request with the city clerk's office. Now the OIG will refer the case to the Broward State Attorney and the Florida Division of Elections for a criminal investigation.
When politicians ask donors for money, they have to use that money for election or political purposes. They can’t use those donations to throw a party, part of what the IG found Perkins did.
NBC 6 called her cell, left a message at her office, and emailed her private and official emails for comment. She has not yet responded.
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In March 2021, the OIG received a tip accusing Perkins of misusing leftover campaign donations after she won the election in November 2020. The IG report claims she used that money for a swearing-in celebration, a Christmas party, holiday gifts to campaign workers, and a new year’s celebration, all of which did not further her election to office, according to investigators.
OIG investigators found she made 22 improper payments totaling $7,381. While looking through her documents, investigators also found payments of $3,322 to the New Creation Baptist Church of Christ, which were not properly reported. NBC 6 tried contacting church leaders but our message has not yet been returned.
Her treasurer told OIG investigators they transferred the money to the church to hold until they decided what to do with it. The church still had the money more than 450 days later, according to the report. The OIG report includes copies of checks and around 400 pages of evidence.
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According to the report, Perkin’s campaign treasurer Robert Holmes told the OIG, “Vice Mayor Perkins never spoke with him about the rules or requirements for keeping campaign finance records and that the only rules he was given were those in the calendar of reporting dates that the city clerk’s office provided him.”
The OIG also found donations made under incorrect names in their campaign reports, more than $3,800 paid to Perkins, and $9,500 in cash payments, which should have been made with campaign checks per the law. Perkins and Holmes failed to provide evidence of what happened to much of the money according to the report.
All of this could add up to one third-degree felony and several first-degree misdemeanors, according to state law cited in the report.
“Vice Mayor Perkins and her treasurer engaged in numerous, various acts of campaign finance misconduct that were criminal in nature,” wrote John W. Scott, the Broward County Inspector General.
The inspector general investigation is still active. This is a preliminary report the OIG sent to the city and the people involved.
The vice mayor and her treasurer have 30 days to officially respond to their findings and then a final report will be published. The two are not facing criminal charges at this time, but the case has been referred to prosecutors.
