Rep. Scott Plakon hid real estate holdings, ethics complaint alleges
By: Gray Rohrer, Orlando Sentinel, November 4, 2019
TALLAHASSEE – Rep. Scott Plakon was hit with an ethics complaint from a Washington D.C.-based watchdog group on Monday, alleging he didn’t disclose extensive real estate holdings on his financial disclosure forms for several years and directed campaign funds to companies he owned.
Click here to read CfA’s ethics complaint against Rep. Plakon.
The complaint was filed by Dan Stevens, executive director of the Campaign for Accountability, with the Florida Commission on Ethics. It cited property records, court filings and other documents to show Plakon bought and sold several properties in Seminole, Lake and Volusia counties that never showed up on his annual financial disclosure forms.
“Financial disclosures exist to inform the public about a government official’s financial situation so that voters and the public can judge for themselves whether a member is acting in the interest of the public,” the complaint states. “Rep. Plakon’s failure to disclose details about his extensive business empire deprives the public of that knowledge.”