BRADENTON -- A former Manatee County administrator faces criminal charges, after an 11-month investigation.
Scott Hopes is charged with grand theft, notary fraud and public records fraud. The state attorney's office says Hopes misused his notary public authority to steal county property worth 10-to-20 thousand dollars.
The Manatee sheriff's office opened an investigation last March, into claims that Hopes erased public records by clearing his iPad when he abruptly resigned last year. Hopes served as county administrator from 2020 to 2023.
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