A Florida law enforcement officer was apprehended Tuesday after being tied to a series of credit card charges stolen from a deceased man.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office has charged Jeffrey Ziegler, 24, with various felonies following an investigation into identity theft. According to police, the fake expenditure started on February 29, 2024, just one day after the deceased died. Over a two-week period ending March 12, 2024, Ziegler allegedly racked up $10,362.02 in unauthorized charges on the deceased man’s credit cards.
The theft went unreported for almost two years. On December 31, 2025, family members rummaging through the victim’s mail found a stack of past-due notices for the secret accounts. On January 2, 2026, the family reported the scam to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, resulting in a criminal inquiry.
Investigators soon shifted their focus to the victim’s inner group. At the time of his death, the victim lived with his daughter and her boyfriend, Ziegler. The daughter gave detectives old text messages from Ziegler, which led to a breakthrough in the investigation. The communications, which described his whereabouts at certain times and locations, corresponded to the identical timestamps and merchants on the phony credit card statements.
Ziegler was employed as a detention deputy for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office when the alleged offenses occurred. By the time he was arrested on June 2, 2026, he had moved agencies and was working as a police officer with the Haines City Department.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd expressed disgust over the timeline and nature of the theft. “Knowingly stealing from someone who has died is just terrible,” Sheriff Judd stated. “I am not sure what he was thinking, but we are holding him accountable for his unlawful actions. This will undoubtedly bring an end to his public safety career.
Following his arrest, Ziegler was booked into the Sheriff’s Processing Center. He faces charges of criminal use of a deceased person’s personal identification, grand theft, fraudulent use of a credit card, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, and unlawful possession of personal identification information.
Officials from the Haines City Police Department verified that Ziegler filed a letter of resignation effective immediately after his arrest.
Joe Halman, Jr., Haines City’s Public Safety Director, issued a statement regarding his former officer’s arrest. “We are deeply saddened and disappointed by the alleged off-duty behavior of former officer Jeff Ziegler,” Halman declared. “We expect our officers to uphold the law and act with integrity both on and off duty. Based on the facts we’ve evaluated, he made extremely poor decisions. His actions do not reflect the values of this department. We are still committed to accountability and keeping the public’s trust. Had he not quit, he would have been fired.”
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