HCSO chief deputy resigns amid allegations of cheating on FBI National Academy coursework

TAMPA, Fla. - One of Hillsborough County's highest-ranking deputies has resigned amid allegations of academic cheating.

Now-former Chief Deputy Anthony Collins announced his resignation at the end of July, four days after the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office received a tip containing the allegations.

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What we know:

Sheriff Chad Chronister said on July 19 that the sheriff's office received an email from Collins' wife. In the email, she alleged that Collins had paid someone to help him complete coursework for training classes at the FBI National Academy.

The email contained screenshots of email correspondence between Collins and what Chronister determined to be a "paper writer." In one of the emails, the "paper writer" stated, "Here is the paper. It meets the guidelines and requirements without focusing too much on the personal."

The email also included allegations concerning Collins' personal and family life.

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The day after the sheriff's office received the tip, Chronister said Collins was placed on administrative leave so an informal inquiry could be done. In the meantime, Chronister said he spoke to the 21-year veteran of the sheriff's office.

"'Okay, let me find out how egregious this is,'" Chronister said. "On a scale of zero to 10, zero means he completed none of your coursework, 10 meaning he did all of it.' He told me, 'At least a five.'"

Chronister said Collins resigned the following day.

Dig deeper:

FOX 13 obtained an email Collins sent to HCSO staff, notifying them of his resignation. In it, Collins said, "my family needs me more," in announcing his departure. 

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Chronister said the other allegations concerning Collins' personal and family life were investigated and determined to be unfounded. He said Collins resigned before a formal investigation could be launched into the allegation of academic cheating, but he believes it would have been substantiated based on the evidence.

"When he described how the paper writer was compensated, when he described that he wrote at least half his papers, I knew there was something, there was some policy violation there," Chronister said.

The sheriff's office said it also had to report the matter to the FBI National Academy.

What they're saying:

"When anyone in law enforcement betrays the community's trust, we all suffer the consequences," Chronister said. "It's worse when it's someone in your leadership team."

Chronister said Collins worked alongside him for years, from being on the SWAT team together, to representing the sheriff's office at community events, promotion ceremonies and some of the county's biggest crime investigations.

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"In my eight years of sheriff, one of the most difficult things is knowing that someone who meant so much to me, personally and professionally, let me down," he said.

Collins was promoted earlier this year, and he was poised to continue climbing the ladder of leadership within the sheriff's office.

"Being completely forthright, did I think he was gonna be a strong contender as part of Chad Chronister's succession plan here at the office?" Chronister said. "He was absolutely part of the conversation."

The sheriff said the allegation impacts the reputation of the entire agency.

"We 100% suffered a black-eye," Chronister said. "It will be now incumbent upon us to help build that credibility back again over the future."

The other side:

FOX 13 reached out to Collins for a response to the allegations and a comment on his resignation. Collins previously spoke to another news outlet and said that nobody wrote papers or completed assignments on his behalf.

When FOX 13 spoke with Collins on Tuesday, he said he had no further comments.