A Prince George County parking ticket writer is facing criminal charges for allegedly issuing over $2,600 in fake citations.
Prince George County Revenue Authority employee Antoine Budd was investigated after 10 people complained about tickets they received for parking in a fire lane, a fine that runs close to $200. Those complaining claimed to never have parked in the spot listed on the tickets. All of those tickets were written by Budd.
Ticket writers are required to take photographs of illegally parked vehicles in a fire lane, but no such pictures were taken of the 10 cited vehicles, and those that were taken were blacked out. A check of the camera showed that it was working properly.
A review of the tickets also showed that the license plate numbers on the citations did not match the vehicle make and model assigned to those tag numbers.
Budd has been charged with perjury, forgery, counterfeiting, issuing false documents, and misconduct in office. Budd says he issued fake tickets in order to meet a quota; he believed his bosses were unhappy with his performance. However, Peter Shapiro, Revenue Authority Executive Director, says the agency does not give quota requirements for ticket writers.
Budd was suspended during an internal investigation and subsequently fired.
