A South Tampa contractor already under a cloud of fraud allegations is back behind bars, this time accused of forging a judge’s signature in a church construction scandal that has left a prime corner lot sitting empty. Detectives say Stephen K. Halford used falsified invoices and other bogus paperwork linked to a fundraising project at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church & School, where a long-planned education building is still nothing more than a fenced-off patch of dirt while civil and criminal cases drag on.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, Halford was arrested June 30 on new fraud counts that include an allegation he forged a judge’s signature. Investigators say the scheme drained at least $674,000 from Holy Trinity. The alleged forgery surfaced as detectives dug more deeply into invoices and court documents, and authorities say the latest arrest builds on an earlier civil suit and an ongoing criminal probe.
Holy Trinity Lutheran School, at 3712 W. El Prado Boulevard, sits next to a parcel on South Dale Mabry Highway that the church bought for a new multipurpose education building, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Instead of fresh classrooms and a bustling campus, the lot remains fenced and unimproved, a daily reminder of the stalled expansion. Church leaders say they raised money for the project and that the alleged theft unraveled plans for additional classrooms and after-school programs…