St. Johns County's clerk of court said the office cut ties with a debt collection company a few years ago after learning of a bribery investigation involving the company and its owner.
The statement came in response to a request for information from certain Florida clerks of court this month from Florida's Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis.
An indictment was filed in 2019 against Penn Credit Corporation and Donald Donagher Jr., who led the business during that time. The indictment says that Donagher and Penn Credit gave and offered to give gifts and services to several clerks of court, or people or groups affiliated with them, in an attempt to get "favorable treatment for Penn Credit in the award, allocation and retention of debt collection work."