6 July 18-24, 2024 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | news | letters | coNteNts | Month XX–Month XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | HELP WANTED Miami-Dade hired convicted contract scammer to oversee county contracts. BY ALEX DELUCA C hristopher Kovanes had some unique (dis)quali- fications for his gig with Miami-Dade County. Back in November 2005, while employed as a Davie town administrator, Kovanes was arrested for embezzling nearly $500,000 from the Broward County municipality by awarding town contracts to phony companies he set up and pocketing the money. Kovanes pleaded guilty to felony charges of fraud and money laundering and was sentenced to 12 years in prison, followed by ten years of pro- bation. He was released from state custody in 2019 and remains on probation until 2029. Unlike many convicted felons who strug- gle to find work post-incarceration, Kovanes secured a job fairly quickly after re-entering the market. In March 2022, he landed a posi- tion with Miami-Dade County as a part-time PortMiami passenger safety officer. Six months later, in September 2022, the ex-town leader advanced to a gig in Miami-Dade County’s Department of Transportation & Public Works (DTPW) as an administrative officer, where he was tasked with overseeing department contracts and preparing bid pro- posals. How negligent was the county in promot- ing Kovanes to a position of fiscal oversight and retaining him for two years despite his past conviction? A recent probe by the Miami-Dade County Office of the Inspector General (OIG) weighed in. The investigation found that the county failed to properly evaluate his criminal his- tory prior to his promotion — a blunder that allowed him to advance to a role where he had access to sensitive financial information, which the OIG notes is “a direct correlation to his criminal history.” The scathing report concluded that Mi- ami-Dade County had “no formal policy or procedure” requiring departments to review employees’ criminal history when they change job positions or transfer departments. “These lapses in the processes allowed Mr. Kovanes, who is still serving his sentence for abusing his public office, to be in a position of financial responsibility acquiring goods and services,” the OIG wrote, referring to Kovanes’ active 10-year probation. When Kovanes was hired as a passenger safety officer at the Miami-Dade port in 2022, the port’s hiring manager was apparently aware of Kovanes’ fraud conviction. After the manager reviewed his background check and consulted with a supervisor, the human re- source department determined that his past criminal case did not disqualify him for the entry-level position, which involved helping and directing passengers at the port. But when he applied for a promotion to a job with the Department of Transportation & Public Works, the department handled the application as a routine transfer and did not conduct a background check. DTPW’s senior personnel specialist told investigators that staff had no idea Kovanes had been jailed for embezzlement. The promotion put Kovanes in a position involving procurement and management of contracts for county bus operations, Metromover, Metrorail, and transportation facilities. The OIG opened its investigation in Sep- tember 2023 after a federal agency contacted it, inquiring about Kovanes’ role with the county. In a statement provided to New Times, the Miami-Dade County Office of the Mayor notes that Kovanes was placed in a separate division once the Depart- ment of Trans- portation & Public Works found out about discrep- ancies in his employment record. “Mr. Kovanes was immediately removed from his unit and re- assigned to work under the supervision of our Safety and Security unit while a complete investigation was conducted,” reads the statement on behalf of the county’s human resource department. The OIG report notes that the county ulti- mately fired him on May 13, 2024, for being untruthful on his initial job application, in- cluding by failing to inform the county that he was on probation and providing “sham refer- ences” on his resume. For instance, according to the report, Kovanes claimed on his resume that he worked as a “project manager” at one com- pany from 2013 to 2021 and as a “coordinator” at another from 2009 to 2013 — despite being incarcerated in state prison from 2009 to 2019. “Mr. Kovanes was actually incarcerated during almost the entire time period coincid- ing with the prior employment information and reference period,” the report reads. In a sworn statement to the OIG, Kovanes claimed that these companies employed him while he was in prison and that he completed paperwork remotely for them during that time. He said he was never compensated and was in- stead promised employment upon his release. According to the report, the OIG learned that one of Kovanes’ references, named James, was imprisoned with Kovanes at Moore Ha- ven Correctional Facility from 2009 to 2014. (Despite several attempts to interview him about Kovanes’ work history, the OIG says the man declined to discuss the issue.) Investigators could find no record of one of the companies Kovanes had listed, a pur- ported San Diego-based firm called Silver- gate Development. Meanwhile, the Florida Department of Corrections, which is overseeing Kovanes’ probation, had no information on his Miami address or county job. He listed his occupa- tion as “homemaker.” “Mr. Kovanes’ criminal history and proba- tionary status notwithstanding, he benefitted from a lack of cross-referencing and verifica- tion of his falsified employment application and sham references,” the inspector general’s office wrote. The county says that it “is taking action to strengthen our internal policies in response to this incident.” “Our Human Resources (HR) Department is developing a policy to ensure that back- ground and reference checks are conducted, as appropriate, for internal candidates trans- ferring from one department to another, to give hiring managers full visibility when making an offer,” the mayor’s office state- ment reads. Kovanes served as Davie’s town adminis- trator from October 2004 until his arrest in November 2005. Between 2003 and 2005, he stole taxpayer money by awarding town contracts to shell companies and then diverting the money to his own accounts. According to The Ledger, he deposited 20 city checks into a bank ac- count established under the name of Geo- graphic Environmental Inc., which investigators say was a company created by Kovanes, complete with a fake address. He evaded authorities for more than a week following the issuance of an arrest war- rant before surrendering to face the embez- zlement charges. [email protected] The Miami-Dade Office of the Inspector General found that lack of oversight allowed Christopher Kovanes, a former Davie official imprisoned over a contract scam, to be employed by Miami-Dade to supervise department contracts. Photo by Florida Department of Corrections/Unplash via Leon Seibert | METRO | BETWEEN 2003 AND 2005, HE STOLE TAXPAYER MONEY BY AWARDING TOWN CONTRACTS TO SHELL COMPANIES AND THEN DIVERTING THE MONEY TO HIS OWN ACCOUNTS.
