In a surprising turn of events in Sanford, Florida, a local police officer has found himself on the wrong side of the law. The officer, embroiled in a fraud investigation, is accused of scamming the city, as revealed by the Sanford Police Department.
The investigation dates back to July 2024, when anomalies were uncovered by the city’s finance department. They spotted unpaid vendor accounts linked to off-duty police details, raising initial suspicions. According to a statement released on Tuesday, this discovery prompted a deeper dive into the department’s financial dealings.
“During this review, discrepancies and negative balances were found,” the police department disclosed in their release. Over the following year, the finance team sought to unravel the mystery, reaching out for invoices from vendors and requesting clarifications from Ronny Neal, who served as the Off-Duty Detail Coordinator.
Despite these efforts, unresolved account issues persisted. By November 2025, it became increasingly apparent that these financial inconsistencies might be rooted in criminal misconduct. This realization prompted the initiation of a formal criminal investigation.
As the inquiry progressed, Ronny Neal was placed on administrative leave on December 9, as per department protocol. Investigators eventually uncovered that Neal had been fabricating off-duty assignments and billing the city for these fictitious jobs. This fraudulent activity reportedly took place from October 1, 2023, to July 28, 2024.
It turned out, investigators said, that Neal had been creating fictitious off-duty details and charging the city on his time sheet for working them. This activity ranged from Oct. 1, 2023, through July 28, 2024.
As a result, Neal was ultimately taken into custody and now faces 79 counts of official misconduct, as well as a charge of organized fraud.
“Betrayed and disgusted do not come close to describing how I feel,” Police Chief Cecil Smith said. “He chose day after day to lie, cheat and steal from the community he took an oath to serve and protect, using his badge as a shield to hide his criminal acts. He has single-handedly tarnished the hard work and trust that the men and women of this agency have worked years to build and strengthen. We will do everything in our power to ensure he answers for every cent he stole and every lie he told.”
Police told News 6 that Neal was first hired by the department in January 2003, and he was serving as an investigator in the Professional Standards Unit.
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