Kirk Reams, scandal-plagued clerk of court in Jefferson County, arrested in FDLE probe

Kirk Reams, who courted controversy and scandal during his embattled tenure as Jefferson County clerk of court, was arrested on charges he misused the office credit card, took part in a kickback scheme and misappropriated funds.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which arrested Reams on Wednesday, began investigating him in 2021 after receiving reports of criminal misconduct involving his office. He was accused of scheming with two others to defraud the county of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Reams, 46, of Monticello, was arrested on single felony counts of scheme to defraud over $50,000 and grand theft over $100,000. He was booked into the Jefferson County Jail.

Hours after the arrest was announced, he was suspended from office by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

"It is in the best interests of the residents of Jefferson County, and the citizens of the State of Florida, that Kirk B. Reams be immediately suspended from the public office," the governor wrote in his executive order.

Two others also were arrested: Warren “Charles” Culp Jr., 52, of Tallahassee, who worked as a financial consultant for the clerk’s office, and Justin “Tyler” McNeill, 40, of Monticello, a former deputy clerk of court and human resource director for the Jefferson County Commission.

"Through ... varying schemes, Reams, Culp and McNeill defrauded Jefferson County of over $800,000 in public funds," FDLE said in a news release.

According to FDLE, the criminal allegations included reports that Reams was spending county money on advertising and sponsorships and misusing the county's purchasing card for personal travel.

"The complaint also alleged that Reams and Culp fraudulently misappropriated funds from the Jefferson Board of County Commissioners’ bank account, and that Reams used his position to establish a contract kickback scheme by which he, Culp and McNeill plotted to illegally enrich themselves," FDLE said.

Culp was arrested on one count of scheme to defraud over $50,000, two counts of grand theft over $100,000, six counts of grand theft over $20,000 but less than $100,000 and one count of grand theft between $750 and $5,000, all felonies. FDLE said Culp previously held a state position in which he was involved in auditing clerks of court. He was booked into the Leon County Detention Facility.

McNeill was arrested on felony counts of scheme to defraud over $50,000 and grand theft over $100,000 after turning himself in to authorities.

Arrest marks Reams' second run-in with the law after incident involving nude photos

It wasn't the first time Reams, first elected in 2006, has been in hot water — or behind bars — over alleged misdeeds at the courthouse in Monticello.

In 2017, he was arrested on a charge of petty theft after an ex-girlfriend reported that he had given her a county-owned laptop and that he took nude photos of her inside the circuit judge's chambers after hours in 2013. Investigators found the photos did not amount to a crime.

Then-Gov. Rick Scott suspended Reams from office in the wake of the allegations. But he was cleared at trial of the theft charge and reinstated in 2018 after suing the governor in federal court.

Last October, Reams, former chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Party, faced scrutiny and criticism over two $5,000 checks written from the Clerk of Court's account.

One went to a sponsorship of the Republican Party's annual Lincoln Dinner, which featured Gov. Ron DeSantis; the other to Ducks Unlimited, a waterfowl and wetlands conservation group led by former Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam. Florida law forbids the use of public money for partisan political purposes.

Reams told the Jefferson Journal at the time that he used state-appropriated money, not county money, in both cases. He said his critics were on a "witch hunt for information that has been audited over the last 14 years by dozens of qualified, educated and trained professionals.”

FDLE's Office of Executive Investigations conducted the probe into Reams and his alleged cohorts. State Attorney Jack Campbell's office is prosecuting the case.

More: Federal judge sides with suspended Jefferson County clerk in lawsuit against Gov. Rick Scott

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or 850-599-2180.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Kirk Reams, scandal-plagued Jefferson County clerk, arrested in FDLE probe