A Miami-Dade County tax collector’s office clerk was arrested Thursday after authorities said he operated an illegal scheme to issue temporary driving permits to people in exchange for money. Waldersee Oge, 46, of North Miami, faces six charges including official misconduct by a public servant, unlawful compensation/reward for official behavior, and unlawful use of a communications device.
Surveillance video reviewed by deputies showed Oge issuing temporary driving permits to at least four people who were not present in the office at 3721 NW Seventh St. in Miami’s Flagami neighborhood. According to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office arrest report, Oge was seen on video speaking on his cellphone with customers, gathering their personal information and then inputting that information into the Orion database. The supervisor at the tax collector’s office notified investigators about the illegal activity on March 25.
“It’s possible they do not,” Miami-Dade Tax Collector Dariel Fernandez said when asked about whether the recipients had legal status in the United States. “This issue is a national security issue for the United States of America. That is why we take this serious(ly).” Investigators said they are looking into whether the recipients even had legal status in the country.
The supervisor became suspicious after witnessing Oge reviewing scanned documents within the customers motor maintenance system using the Orion database despite there not being any customers at the service counter at the time. Detectives said Oge was taken into custody at his workplace Thursday and confessed to conducting multiple transactions in exchange for payments via Zelle. Police said Oge would get paid to secretly renew people’s licenses and clear suspended licenses using his position to access the state’s database.
The Miami-Dade County Tax Collector’s Office released a statement addressing the arrest. “Earlier this morning, an employee of the Miami-Dade County Tax Collector’s Office was arrested in connection with an ongoing investigation,” the statement read. “Following months of investigative work conducted in coordination with law enforcement authorities, the employee was identified as being involved in conduct that is now part of an active criminal case. The matter was identified through internal processes, and immediate action was taken.”
Oge faces additional charges including offenses against computer users, unlawful issuance of a driver’s license and falsifying public records. As of Friday morning, he was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. The tax collector’s office emphasized its commitment to integrity in the statement.
“The Office of the Tax Collector maintains a zero-tolerance policy for any conduct that violates the law or undermines the public trust,” the statement continued. “Our office is fully cooperating with law enforcement as the investigation continues.” The scheme involved Oge allegedly using his cell phone to reference information that he would input into the database while conducting the fraudulent transactions.
Oge is expected to appear before a judge Friday for his initial court hearing on the charges.