The 45-year-old last week became the first private citizen in Broward County to walk away with money — in his case, $1 million — under a county whistleblower law that's been on the books for 10 years. The False Claims Ordinance that made him a millionaire offers a reward to informants who think the county is being ripped off by a vendor, and can help prove it.
Wolk, a former part-owner of Peaches Entertainment Corp., lives in Weston with his wife.
He took on a $130 million parking company whose founder, Bill Bodenhamer Jr., is a political bigwig in Broward, a frequent campaign contributor and a member of the Downtown Development Authority.
Ultimately, Wolk lost his job with the company, USA Parking Associates, which denied any wrongdoing or overbilling.
But when the documents are signed and the ink is dry, Wolk's bank account will receive an electronic fund transfer from USA Parking of $1,008,000.00.
A lawsuit filed by Broward County in the case lays out what Wolk went through, and what he found.
A controller for USA Parking, Wolk was working on the parking contracts the company held at the county's two biggest business enterprises: Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Port Everglades.
It was August 2007, and the company's general manager told him that a $69,719 insurance invoice to Broward County had been fabricated, created on template stationary for the Willis Corroon Insurance Brokerage of Nashville, according to the lawsuit.
The county paid it.
Wolk complained right away. He refused to participate, confronting the general manager and then doing something some employees might find courageous: He typed out a note to the president and CEO of Central Parking Corp., the parent company in Nashville, "requesting that the fraud be stopped,'' the lawsuit says.
His note was forwarded to the company's attorney.
No one answered him.
Two days later, he got a surprise visit.
A top official from the Nashville headquarters showed up to see him unannounced, along with the local human resources director. His conversation with the official — the vice president and chief internal auditor for Central Parking Corp. — only served to confirm the use of fictional invoices, Wolk later told the county.
Wolk wrote the company vice president an "accusatory email'' the next day.
He got a response, an email saying that Broward County hadn't "been cheated out of any money,'' and that the false invoices were "being addressed going forward.''
Wolk set to work doing a little more research, and his concerns grew. A few weeks later, he sent another email to the auditor.
Silence.
What Wolk felt he'd uncovered was an overbilling of insurance to the county over a period of five years.
He and the county say that while the parking company pretended to buy insurance for employees and to bill the county for it, the company really didn't buy the insurance at all. Rather, the parking firm was largely self-insured, charging the county rates it considered competitive and enjoying discounts that weren't passed back to Broward County taxpayers as required.
Wolk's allegations of fictional insurance invoices led the county to sue the Fort Lauderdale-founded company for $47 million.
The county accused the company of "submitting false, fraudulent and inflated claims'' on its contracts at the airport and Port Everglades.
The company, which denies any wrongdoing, settled the lawsuit for $6 million in a deal approved Tuesday by the Broward County Commission. Wolk's piece of the settlement was a little more than $1 million.
The county will get $3.4 million. Wolk's attorney, Atlee Wampler III in Miami, will get $1.5 million.
USA Parking and its parent company, Central Parking Corp., said the county was never overcharged but that it settled the case "to avoid the delay, expense, inconvenience and uncertainty'' of litigation, the settlement says.
Wolk wasn't allowed to comment on the settlement — nor were his lawyer, county officials or USA Parking officials, they said. They're bound by a gag order.
Bodenhamer couldn't be reached despite two calls to his cellphone, an email and a call to his office.
USA Parking and its parent company were recently bought by a third parking company, Standard Parking Corp., and its officials encouraged an "expeditious resolution,'' said Robert M. Toy, executive vice president of operations for Central Parking.
Standard Parking is seeking a contract with the county for parking at the airport. And USA parking still has the contract at Port Everglades.
"The companies did not admit any facts or liability, and are precluded by the provisions of the settlement agreement from commenting on either the litigation or the terms of its settlement,'' Toy said.
Broward County commissioners unanimously approved the unprecedented settlement on Tuesday, without a word.
And then just as silently, they took away the contract that USA Parking has held at the airport for 16 years. The contract expired this month, but because of Wolk's allegations, Aviation Director Kent George said he didn't want USA Parking staying on month-to-month while a new parking operator is found.
County officials didn't respond to questions about whether USA Parking and its parent companies can continue doing business with Broward County.
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