ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A former Orange County Convention Center employee accused of stealing thousands of dollars in parking fees in 2024 had been fired for suspicious activity years earlier but was then rehired.
The employee Zillah Bell is accused of stealing more than $57,000 in parking fees. According to court records and a recent county audit, she used a phone attachment to process parking payments on an external device and routed the money to her bank account.
The discovery is raising new concerns about a county-wide human resources system. It’s also encouraging the convention center to take new steps to reduce parking revenue theft.
According to an audit released by the Orange County Comptroller, parking at the convention center brought in more than $11 million for the 2024 fiscal year.
“It’s huge. And, the last thing anybody wants to see is to see that money going and being stolen,” said Orange County Comptroller Phil Diamond.
Diamond explained that an earlier audit of Orange County Convention Center Parking Revenue first flagged theft as a possibility in 2017.
It led the convention center to install two surveillance cameras at each of the parking toll booths and a new point-of-sale system.
That surveillance video became a key piece of evidence that led to the arrest of 29-year-old Zilah Bell in January 2025.
According to the new parking revenue audit, following Bell’s arrest, the convention center conducted an “internal fraud risk assessment” revealing additional concerns.
The assessment found that the countywide Human Resources Information System does not currently allow departments to record the reason why a person is fired.
The HR department agreed this “increases the risk of inadvertently rehiring individuals previously terminated for misconduct.”
According to a county spokesperson, the Human Resources Department is now collaborating with the HR system vendor to explore a potential solution.
Meanwhile, the Convention Center sent Channel 9 the following statement:
“The Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) appreciates the work of the Comptroller’s Office and the opportunity to participate in the follow-up audit of our Parking division. The report confirms that the OCCC has taken major steps to enhance oversight and security, with a clear plan to further strengthen internal controls and safeguard public assets.
Since the original 2017 audit, three of the four recommendations have been fully implemented, including the installation of cameras in every toll booth and lane, revised sales tax calculation methods, and stronger controls for canceled transactions. In 2023, the OCCC also became a cashless facility, transitioning to a new point-of-sale (POS) system specifically designed for parking operations. Both enhancements have reduced opportunities for theft and ensured accurate accounting of service fees.
Significant progress has also been made toward the final recommendation to record a transaction for every vehicle entering the lot. The follow-up audit found that discrepancies dropped from approximately 30% in 2016 to just 4% in the most recent review. Analysis confirmed that the remaining discrepancies were primarily due to procedural issues rather than the loss of any revenue due to the OCCC. Over the next year, this type of human error should be almost zero as the OCCC transitions to digital parking passes which automatically log a transaction when scanned at the tollbooth.
While the audit also references a previously reported 2024 theft involving a former employee, it is important to emphasize that the incident was identified by OCCC management, investigated thoroughly, and referred to law enforcement, resulting in an arrest and charges. An internal risk assessment was immediately initiated to verify the theft was an isolated incident and to develop a plan to prevent recurrence. This swift action has allowed our team to implement layered protections throughout our system utilizing the latest in technology, including AI reviews.
As parking operations and technology evolve, so will our strategies for preventing and detecting fraud. The initiatives presented in the audit report reflect our proactive commitment to protecting public funds and upholding the highest standards of accountability and transparency for Orange County taxpayers.”
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