Staff Reports
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
Attorney General Ashley Moody is launching a new initiative to investigate and combat online crime.
The Cyber Fraud Enforcement Unit is a team of criminal and civil attorneys within the Florida Attorney General’s Office that will work with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and other agencies to root out cybercriminals who are too small-time to grab the FBI’s attention.
Moody asserts the unit is needed because the FBI’s own data shows online scammers bilked Floridians out of more than $844 million last year — more than any other state not named California. Florida was also ranked No. 2 in number of victims, with 42,792 individuals affected.
“As online crime increases, the enforcement gap continues to grow as federal agencies often focus attention on cases involving multimillion-dollar losses. 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.
FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass added, “FDLE’s cyber fraud team will help keep Florida citizens safe by investigating and stopping these pervasive crimes. Our analysts are on the front lines researching cybercrime and criminal organizations, identifying the players, learning how these crimes work and who is being victimized. These behind-the-scenes heroes are an important resource, not only for FDLE, but also for our law enforcement partners.”
Moody’s office said the team is already at work and producing results — last week, they worked with FDLE to shut down a criminal enterprise that used the dark web and cryptocurrency to commit identity theft and launder more than $350,000. If convicted, the ringleader could face up to 135 years in prison.
Evening Reads
—“The humiliation of Ron DeSantis” via Helen Lewis of The Atlantic
—”What reset? Republicans cast doubt on the idea that DeSantis is rebooting his campaign” via Max Greenwood of the Miami Herald
—”Republicans shrug at latest possible Donald Trump indictment” via Shane Goldmacher and Maggie Haberman of The New York Times
—”DeSantis, others sued over alleged ‘election police’ voter intimidation” via Shayna Jacobs of The Washington Post
—”What is ‘woke’? DeSantis says ‘a lot of people’ have no clue” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
—“Joe Biden campaign admonishes DeSantis’ culture war fights as a ‘contrived political stunt’” via Fritz Farrow of ABC News
—”Florida OKs new Black history standards; critics call it ‘whitewash’” via Leslie Postal of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel
—”‘Do not, for the love of God, tell kids that slavery was beneficial’” via Jackie Llanos of the Florida Phoenix
—”Judge refuses to limit drag show ruling to just Hamburger Mary’s” via Austin Fuller of the Orlando Sentinel
—“Florida’s behind-closed-doors health care dealings are a slight to public servants and their families” via Peter Schorsch of Florida Politics
—”The true story behind Oppenheimer’s atomic test — and how it just might have ended the world” via Kelsey Piper of Vox
Quote of the Day
“Please do not, for the love of God, tell kids that slavery was beneficial.”
— Kevin Parker, speaking against new African American history standards approved by the Florida Board of Education.
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Last Call is published by Peter Schorsch, assembled and edited by Phil Ammann and Drew Wilson with contributions from the staff of Florida Politics.
