Florida Reentry “Success” Story: Convicted Embezzler Promoted to Oversee Miami-Dade County Contracts
Though convicted of stealing nearly $500,000 from the Florida town where he used to work, Christopher Kovanes was hired and promoted by Miami-Dade County. That is to the County’s credit, for giving the former prisoner a chance. But the decision to let him oversee county contracts? That was a serious lapse in oversight, according to a scathing report by the County’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) on May 23, 2024.
Before his 2005 arrest, Kovanes was Administrator for the town of Davie in neighboring Broward County. In just 13 months on the job, he fleeced taxpayers of a half-million dollars by awarding town contracts to shell companies and moving payments to his own bank accounts.
After he was caught and convicted of embezzlement, Kovanes was sentenced to 12 years in state prison. He was released in 2019 to serve another 10 years on probation. Unlike most probationers, though, Kovanes was able to land a good job with Miami-Dade County in 2022. Initially hired as a Passenger Safety Officer at the Port of Miami, he was promoted just six months later to oversee contracts in the Department of Transportation & Public Works.
In his initial hiring, the County had determined that Kovanes’ criminal record did not prevent him from holding an entry-level job at the Port working with cruise guests. But the promotion gave him access to sensitive financial information, prompting an unnamed federal agency to contact the OIG, which opened an investigation in September 2023. When that concluded, the agency found the County was seriously negligent in promoting Kovanes and allowing him access to sensitive financial data despite a history of stealing public funds—which the County’s poor vetting process never uncovered.
The OIG investigation also determined that Kovanes lied on his job application, claiming work experience during years when he was actually in prison and providing fake references—including one from a fellow prisoner who claimed to be his boss. These were reasons that the County cited when it fired Kovanes in May 2024. But it took OIG to reveal the truth because the County’s lack of verification procedures allowed the lies to go unnoticed. In response to the report, Miami-Dade County vowed to strengthen policies and require background checks for internal promotions.
Source: Miami New Times
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login