ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County property appraiser Rick Singh has filed a civil lawsuit against two former employees, alleging the women secretly installed GPS tracking devices on his vehicle and secretly recorded private conversations.
The lawsuit cites an investigation by Orlando police in a five-county complaint against the former employees.
The Orlando Police Department could not provide details on the investigation, but the lawsuit is the latest turn in what has been an ongoing series of controversies involving the office.
The former employees named in the civil suit first made allegations of misconduct against Singh, then the Florida Department of Law Enforcement recommend the criminal charges be filed against Singh. Now, Singh pushing back.
The 11-page suit was filed late Tuesday night in Orange County.
The suit named former employees Aisha Hassan and Laverne McGee as defendants. It said they engaged in numerous unlawful acts towards Singh and other OCPA staff.
The suit also said McGee allegedly “surreptitiously recorded numerous meetings with OCPA staff, including OCPA’s attorney, without their knowledge of consent.”
It then goes on to say the women directed the installation of Geo-tab units, which are GPS tracking devices, on OCPA vehicles, including a Chevy Tahoe driven by Singh.
Then, the women allegedly accessed the location of the Tahoe 954 times.
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From there, the suit alleges Hassan destroyed public records.
In a statement to Channel 9, Singh’s office said it is seeking to hold McGee and Hassan responsible. They said this is another chapter in the saga brought forth by two disgruntled employees, closing by saying it had no choice but to ask the courts to hold the women responsible.
In January, Channel 9 reported that FDLE had investigated the Orange County property appraiser’s office turning over it’s findings to the State Attorney’s Office.
Those findings, recommending Singh be charged with official misconduct, are still being review by prosecutors.
Singh has filed for re-election, for what would be his third term in office.
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