FLORIDA — With more than 42,000 Floridians losing a combined $844 million to cybercrime last year, Attorney General Ashley Moody has announced the formation of a Cyber Fraud Enforcement Unit to combat illicit online activity in Florida.
According to Moody, her Cyber Fraud Enforcement Unit (CFEU) is a team of criminal and civil attorneys in the Florida Attorney General’s Office who work with Florida Department of Law Enforcement analysts and other law enforcement agencies to solve cybercrimes that federal authorities may overlook due to the size of the case.
“As online crime increases, the enforcement gap continues to grow as federal agencies often focus attention on cases involving multimillion-dollar losses,” said Moody.
“Noticing this gap in enforcement, I worked with legislative leaders and our law enforcement partners to build a team of expert attorneys to help fill that void and protect Floridians from emerging high-tech schemes.”
Moody said her CFEU is already working with FDLE and law enforcement on cybercrime investigations and taking down cybercriminals across the state.
The CFEU and FDLE recently announced the shutdown of a complex criminal enterprise that used the dark web and cryptocurrency to commit massive identity theft and launder more than $350,000. If convicted, the ringleader in the case could potentially face up to 135 years in prison.
Other cases handled by the Cyber Fraud Enforcement Unit include:
- A man fraudulently purchased more than $150,000 worth of items using credit cards created with the personal information of 20 victims residing in Florida and internationally. The man pleaded guilty and was sentenced to more than five years in prison, followed by 10 years’ probation to pay restitution.
- A woman used privileged access to an employer’s computer systems to adjust personal pay, including fraudulent overtime payouts of more than $107,000. She also used a company’s Amazon account to illicitly purchase more than $41,000 of items. The woman was sentenced to 15 years’ probation and ordered to pay more than $109,000 in restitution.
- A former live-in caretaker charged more than $47,000 to an elderly client’s credit card during a four-month period. The caretaker was sentenced to 16 months in prison for elderly exploitation.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, more than 42,000 Floridians lost a combined total of more than $844 million to cybercrime last year.
