LAKE WORTH, Fla. - Text messages, a controlled call, and a hidden camera: that is just some of the evidence the FBI gathered against a Palm Beach County School District Police Officer over the last year.
Officer Ronnie Williams is accused of filing a false tax return after trying to claim Palm Beach County school children as his dependents.
Reports obtained by Contact 5 show Williams persistently contacted a Lake Worth High School student and her mom last January. Williams allegedly asked the mom to “get (him) some dependents so (he could) claim them in taxes.” the report states.
But Williams was even more specific. “It would be better if they’re immigrants,” the report states, “because they are afraid to file their taxes ... once I tell them how much I’m going to give them, they’re not going to say no.”
The report shows Williams offered to pay up to $1,400 per child and pay the mom $1,000 for her help. However, the mom, whose name has been redacted from the report, secretly turned Williams in to his supervisors.
Both FBI and IRS agents were called in to investigate, and the mom agreed to let investigators record audio and video of the two meetings. Mom even texted Williams fake names and Social Security numbers the FBI gave her.
By April, the jig was up. Investigators say Williams not only admitted to the crime but told agents “he committed the same offense in the past when he was assigned to a school in the Belle Glade area.”
We reached out to Williams and his federally appointed attorney. Neither returned our request for comment. The school district also did not respond to our request for an interview.
As a result of the investigation, Williams was indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of filing a fraudulent tax return. He has pleaded not guilty and the case is currently going through court.
Williams faces up to three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. According to the report, he no longer works as a school police officer for the Palm Beach County School District.