Man Tried To File Fraudulent Liens Against Manatee Officials: Brodsky

MANATEE COUNTY, FL — A man was convicted of several charges after trying to file fake liens against “high-ranking Manatee County officials,” according to a news release from State Attorney Ed Brodsky’s office.

The news release didn’t name the officials targeted by the fake liens and the county court records system was down Friday afternoon.

Christopher G. Hopkins was found guilty, after a jury trial, of two counts of unlawful filing of false documents or records against real or personal property and two counts of simulating the legal process, the news release said.

He committed the crimes on June 13, 2019, and investigated by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, Brodsky’s office said. The trial took place Monday and Tuesday at the Manatee County Courthouse.

Hopkins faces a maximum possible sentences of 30 years in the state’s Department of Corrections. He’ll be sentenced Feb. 15.

He and an unnamed co-defendant went to the Manatee County Clerk’s Office on June 13, 2019 and tried to file the fraudulent lien documents against two county officials. If filed, the documents would have affected the victims’ property interests, the state attorney’s office said.

Even after being informed by staff that the documents were fraudulent liens, the defendants insisted on recording the documents. They claimed that they were part of an investigative agency called the “Statewide Common Law Grand Jury” and had the authority to file such liens, Brodsky’s office said.

That entity isn’t state created or sanctioned as an authoritative investigative agency, the state attorney added. “Due to the quick thinking of the staff at the Manatee County Clerk’s Office, the fraudulent documents were recognized before they were able to be recorded.”