Former Manatee County administrator faces additional charges

After serving just shy of a two-year stint as the Manatee County administrator, Scott Hopes resigned in February 2023 and was charged with notary fraud, grand theft and fraudulent use of public records one year later. 

However, the State of Florida tweaked and expanded those charges April 17. 

The notary charge was dropped, and a petit theft charge was added. The grand theft and fraudulent use of public records charges were expanded to include three charges each. 

Hopes now faces a total of seven charges, instead of three. All the charges stem from the allegation that he doctored time sheets to collect overtime pay from the county. 

Hopes has pleaded not guilty to all charges. 

On April 15, his legal team argued that the state had not been specific enough in its charges. The state responded April 17 by attaching dates to each charge. 

The grand theft charge is now broken down into three separate pay periods, and the fraudulent use of public records charges are tied to specific dates. 

The charges only provide a monetary range of what Hopes is alleged to have taken, not specific amounts. The petit theft is alleged to be between $100 and $750. The first count of grand theft ranges between $5,000 and $20,000, and the other two grand theft charges range between $750 and $5,000.

After dates were attached to the charges, Hopes’ legal team filed a motion to dismiss three out of the seven charges based on the statute of limitations, which is two years for a first degree misdemeanor and three years for a second or third degree felony.

The charges included in the motion to dismiss — petite theft, grand theft between $750 and $5,000 and fraudulent use of public records for falsifying a time sheet — are alleged to have occurred between April 1, 2021 and June 3, 2022.

Attorney Andrea Flynn Mogensen argued that those charges are “time-barred,” or no longer valid.

The remaining charges are alleged to have occurred between Sept. 24, 2022 and Nov. 18, 2022. 

Hopes’ next court appearance is scheduled June 26 for case management.

Mogensen did not return a request for comment, and the State Attorney’s Office does not comment on active litigation.