Eatonville town planner arrested, accused of stealing money

Eatonville’s town planner arrested

Eatonville's town planner has been arrested, accused of stealing money from the Orange County community.

EATONVILLE, Fla. - Eatonville’s town planner has been arrested, accused of stealing money from the town. This all allegedly happened in 2017 when the town planner was in his previous role, in charge of Eatonville’s Community Redevelopment Agency.

James Benderson is accused of using $850 of town funds without permission to start a cultural and heritage foundation. According to the criminal complaint, the foundation was used for his own personal gain.

Benderson is also accused of erasing town data on his work computers and attaching a thumb drive to a town server that was connected to his personal iCloud, a violation of city policy. He has been charged with criminal mischief and grand theft.

Benderson told FOX 35 News that he is not at liberty to talk about the case right now but would speak out as soon as he’s able to.