SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – If it weren't for a vigilant jail mailman, an inmate in Seminole County might have gotten away with attempting to file fraudulent documents asking for his release.
Officials from the Seminole County Sheriff's Office said that in May, inmate Michael Manfredi handed jail mailman Joe Savlan letters addressed to the Orange County Clerk of Courts in which he pretended to be the victim in his criminal case asking for the case and the injunction to be dismissed.
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Savlan said he immediately noticed something was off when Manfredi handed him the envelopes.
"This fellow was very vocal and engaged me in conversation, which is very polite, very nice but sometimes I take that as a flag that you're trying to distract me," Savlan said.
The return address on the envelope was not the jail and Manfredi's name wasn't on it, deputies said.
Jail Mail Fraud BustedThanks to the vigilance of a John E. Polk Correctional Facility employee, a career criminal who tried to defraud the courts, is instead back in prison! Meet the mailman who foiled a get out of jail free scheme. #WeAreSCSO
Posted by Seminole County Sheriff's Office on Friday, January 25, 2019
After being alerted by Savlan, investigators said they discovered that Savlan was attempting to file fraudulent court motions.
"He attempted to have the charges against himself dropped by posing as the complainant," Savlan said.
Deputies said the inmate's plan didn't work and in October, he was found guilty of simulating the legal process and received a six-year sentence.
"This is a prime example of one of the 1,4000 members of the Seminole County Sheriff's Office in a less visible position making a direct connection to protecting our citizens and making our community safer," Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma said.