A former Department of Justice (DOJ) attorney, Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, 62, of Port St. Lucie, has been indicted in federal court on multiple charges, including theft of government money or property, destruction or alteration of federal investigation records, and concealment of public records. The charges were announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
The indictment alleges that in late-2025, while serving as the Managing Assistant United States Attorney (MAUSA) for the Fort Pierce branch of the Southern District of Florida, Lineberger altered electronic file names of government records. She allegedly renamed files such as “chocolate cake recipe” and “bundt cake recipe” to conceal the unauthorized transmission of these records to her personal email accounts. The records included internal DOJ messages, an internal DOJ memorandum, and a DOJ report related to a criminal prosecution that was under a court-ordered seal, which she allegedly transmitted knowing it violated the order.
Lineberger appeared for her arraignment today before Chief United States Magistrate Judge William Matthewman in West Palm Beach, Florida. If convicted, she faces significant penalties, including up to twenty years’ imprisonment for destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in federal investigations, three years for concealment, and up to one year for each count of theft of government property.
This case is being jointly investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, with Assistant United States Attorney Christie S. Utt from the Northern District of Florida prosecuting as a special prosecutor. An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.