By Erika Hernandez
Nov 18, 2024, 18:05 PM EST
Authorities reported that A Florida man was arrested last week after he pretended to be an undercover officer to avoid a background check.
William Dennis Milstead, 64, was charged with falsely impersonating a police officer, making a false statement to obtain property and using a two-way communication device to commit a felony, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. .
Milstead was arrested after a real estate agency reported to the FDLE that he was attempting to lease a residential property without undergoing a background check.
The man submitted a forged letter to the agency claiming he was an undercover FDLE agent working “off the grid.”which is why he could not participate in a background check.
The fake letter, which had numerous grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors, was purportedly written by an assistant captain with the FDLE’s “Off-Grid Command Unit,” explaining why Milstead should be an exception to the background check requirement. of the real estate agency.
“We ask that you make an exception to limit the background/credit check on William Dennis Milstead due to the security needed to protect the safety of our agents and rely solely on this recommendation letter from FDLE and the state of Florida,” it reads in part of the letter.
He stated that Milstead began working at FDLE in October 2006 and said he “is three years away from reaching his 20th year of retirement.”
The FDLE said Milstead has 13 prior felony arrests and was charged with impersonating an officer in 2002 and 2016.
Milstead was booked into the St. Lucie County Jail on Nov. 13 and was released on Nov. 15 after posting his $11,000 bond, jail records show.
The case is being investigated by the FDLE office in Orlando.
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