Man arrested for creating fake arrest warrants for Lee Co. public officials

LEE COUNTY, Fla.- A Massachusetts man is accused of wasting Lee County taxpayer dollars.

Joel Soucy went after the Lee County Clerk of Courts for more than $1 million. She fought back, and now Soucy is in jail for fraud.

This all started when two banks tried to foreclose on homes owned by Soucy in Lee County.

Investigators say Soucy became angry after the court ruled against him.

He filed a lien and financing statement against the Clerk of Courts, Linda Doggett, for more than $1.4 million.

Doggett fought back, filing her own lawsuit against Soucy, to have those claims denied, and scrubbed from the system.

“Say if I were to sell property, or sell a house, then that individual can say out of the sale of that house, you owe me this money, something like that,” said Doggett.

Doggett won, but during the course of that lawsuit, Soucy filed several arguments.

Included in those arguments, investigators say, were fake arrest warrants and criminal complaints, that he created and signed himself, acting as a “private attorney general.”

Southwest Florida attorney Scot Goldberg, who is not involved in the case, says this is a case of someone taking advantage of the system.

“It’s a waste of taxpayer money, it’s a waste of our clerk of courts’ time, a waste of SAO time,” said Goldberg.

He says anyone has the right to file civil documents against a public official, but if you lie, you will face jail time.

“You don’t pick a fight with someone bigger, stronger than you are and not have the truth on your side,” said Goldberg.

Soucy is currently in Lee County Jail.