She admits to overcharging customers in order to feed her drug habit, according to deputies.
50-year-old Melissa Bush, an employee of the St. Johns County Tax Collector’s Office, has been arrested for fraud. Her arrest report says deputies started investigating in April, when the Tax Collector’s Office notice irregularities in a random audit. Video of Bush showed her apparently charging a customer too much and putting the cash difference in her purse. At that time, she was fired from the job, according to the arrest report.
Deputies combed through records and have identified 593 customers so far believed to have been swindled by Bush, with her profiting $13,433.53. The arrest report says she admits to conducting the illegal transactions for years, using the money to fund her habit of cocaine and prescription pills. The Tax Collector’s Office says all of the involved customers will get a complete refund of anything Bush overcharged.
Bush and her attorney met with the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office in June, where the arrest report says she made the same admissions as during prior interviews.
Jail records show Bush was arrested Friday, just before 3 PM.
The Tax Collector’s Office says Bush was a Customer Service Representative from December 2007 to April 2017, working both at the main office in St. Augustine and the Ponte Vedra branch.
A statement from the Tax Collector’s Office says this incident prompted a complete review of procedures around monetary transactions. They have installed new measures, including regular audits, random drug screening, automated change machines, enhanced security surveillance and supervisor training.
“I have been your Tax Collector the past 34 years, and never before has this happened under my watch. I realize people are fallible, and processes may be flawed, but I believe the measures we have implemented will significantly reduce the likelihood of this happening again. You have placed your trust in me, and I can be certain that we have learned from this, we are a stronger organization because of it, and will strive to maintain your faith in our services,” says the statement from Tax Collector Dennis Hollingsworth.