FORT PIERCE, Florida — Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, a 62-year-old from Port St. Lucie, has been indicted on multiple federal charges, including theft of government property and falsification of records.
The indictment, announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, alleges that Lineberger, while serving as the Managing Assistant United States Attorney in Fort Pierce, altered electronic file names of government records to conceal unauthorized transmissions to her personal email. These records included internal DOJ messages and a sealed DOJ report related to a criminal prosecution, according to the press release.
Lineberger allegedly disguised the records under misleading file names such as “chocolate cake recipe” and “bundt cake recipe” before sending them to her personal accounts. The indictment claims she knowingly violated a court order by transmitting the DOJ report outside the department, impairing the prosecution’s administration…