FORT PIERCE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 A former federal prosecutor allegedly disguised sensitive Justice Department records under file names like \u201cchocolate cake recipe\u201d and \u201cbundt cake recipe\u201d before emailing them to her personal accounts, according to a federal indictment unsealed Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, 62, of Port St. Lucie<\/a>, has been charged with theft of government property, falsifying records in a federal investigation, and concealing public records, the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Northern District of Florida announced.<\/p>\n The records at the center of the case include a sealed portion of former Special Counsel Jack Smith<\/a>‘s report on the criminal investigation into President Donald Trump’s retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate, according to multiple news reports.<\/p>\n Prosecutors say Lineberger served as the Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney (MAUSA) in the Fort Pierce<\/a> branch of the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Southern District of Florida<\/a> at the time of the alleged offenses in late 2025.<\/p>\n The indictment alleges Lineberger altered electronic file names of official DOJ records to mask their contents before transmitting them outside government systems. Among the materials were internal DOJ communications, a department memorandum, and a report connected to a criminal prosecution that had been ordered sealed by a federal court.<\/p>\n See also: BODYCAM: Puppy saved from 92-degree heat inside parked car; owner arrested<\/a><\/p>\n