TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Standing with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Florida Department of Transportation at a toll plaza in Orlando today, Attorney General Ashley Moody issued a Consumer Alert warning Floridians about a concerning new smishing scam targeting drivers. The Federal Bureau of Investigation reports that scammers are sending fraudulent text messages to individuals claiming unpaid toll fees and providing links to settle the alleged debts. However, these links are malicious and designed to steal victims’ money. These scams are also being seen targeting E-ZPass users. Attorney General Moody’s Cyber Fraud Enforcement Unit, working with FDLE, recently shut down 10 imposter websites.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “Cybercriminals are sending text messages to thousands of unsuspecting drivers in the hopes that some of them will be tricked into paying a toll fee for a violation that never occurred. While this smishing scam is happening across the nation, our Cyber Fraud Enforcement Unit worked closely with FDLE to shut down 10 fraudulent sites designed to mimic the official SunPass website and steal payments from drivers who received their fake text messages.” Continue reading →

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody is activating Florida’s Price Gouging Hotline following a state of emergency declaration for the North Florida tornadoes. The order follows Governor Ron DeSantis’s state of emergency declaration covering Baker, Columbia, Gadsden, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Suwannee, Taylor and Wakulla counties.

The Price Gouging Hotline is now available to receive reports of extreme price increases on essential commodities. Florida’s price gouging law only applies to items and services essential to getting ready for, or recovering from, a storm within the areas of a declared state of emergency.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “Early morning tornadoes and severe weather ripped through North Florida—causing major damage and widespread power outages. As emergency crews remove road debris and rush to restore power, it is vital that Floridians in hard hit areas heed the advice of local officials. Those consumers who are purchasing emergency supplies should report any incidences of suspected price gouging by calling 1(866) 9NO-SCAM or visiting MyFloridaLegal.com to file a complaint.” Continue reading →

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit announced the arrest of the owner of a home health services agency and a parent of a disabled child for Medicaid provider fraud. Latrena Marie Thomas is the owner of A River’s Journey, a home health care agency with residential home care facilities located in Yulee and Jacksonville. Thomas is accused of hiring non-licensed individuals to provide hands-on personal care services to Medicaid recipients. In addition, Thomas paid Donald Ray Adams II, a parent of a disabled Medicaid recipient, to provide medically licensed care for his own child. In total, Thomas fraudulently billed Medicaid claims for 30 distinct medically needy Medicaid recipients, which caused a total loss of more than $1.6 million.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “This fraudulent billing scheme not only defrauded the Florida Medicaid program out of more than $1.6 million but did so at the expense of Medicaid-dependent recipients, one being a disabled child. In addition to manipulating the system for extra money, the hiring of unqualified and unlicensed medical staff resulted in poor treatment and medical emergencies for Medicaid patients. I’m grateful for our Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for putting a stop to this scheme.” Continue reading →

Who is hindering the passage of the FAIRtax? The answer: those who benefit from the current system. A recent Rasmussen survey may provide a partial answer to who those people are.

Scott Rasmussen provides a revealing look at a group that he calls “America’s elite 1%”. This group is defined as people who make over $150,000 a year, live in densely populated areas and have postgraduate degrees. Here is some of the results of the survey:

*  The elite 1% represents 1% of the population and are extraordinary influential.

*  A heavy concentration of them went to one of 12 elite schools.

*  About half of the policy positions in government and half the corporate board positions in America are held by people who went to one of those 12 schools.

*  They are in power centers – Manhattan or D.C. Continue reading →

Dear Friends,

In the last few days, Governor DeSantis signed the following education bills into law:

HB 931 establishes a statewide school chaplain program, which:

▪  Authorizes school districts and charter schools to allow volunteer chaplains to be on school campuses and provide additional counseling support to students.

• Chaplains will be assigned by the district school board or charter school governing board.
• A student may only receive support offered by school chaplains with written parental consent.

HB 1317 authorizes districts to allow civic and patriotic organizations to visit schools to encourage student participation and involvement. These organizations include: Continue reading →

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.— Governor Ron DeSantis announced that the number of Americans rescued from political turmoil in Haiti by the State of Florida now exceeds 200 individuals. Since the Florida Division of Emergency Management’s first state coordinated rescue flight on March 20, a total of 220 Americans have been successfully evacuated from Haiti to Florida. The evacuations have been executed by the Florida Division of Emergency Management (the Division).

“When Floridians and other Americans are in need, the State of Florida acts,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “I’m pleased to announce that we’ve been able to successfully rescue more than 200 Floridians and other Americans from Haiti. Even when the federal government fails to act, Florida will always step up.” Continue reading →

Submissions will be used to support Hope Florida – A Pathway to Prosperity 

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.— First Lady Casey DeSantis announced a new website to collect family-oriented, kid-friendly recipes for a project designed to benefit the Hope Florida Fund. She invites Floridians and parents from across the state to submit their favorite recipes.

“In the DeSantis family, we love cooking with the kids,” said First Lady Casey DeSantis. “I am asking Floridians to share their favorite kid-friendly recipes to be included in a project that will benefit the Hope Florida Fund. The Governor and I look forward to submissions from parents and cooks in the Sunshine State.” Continue reading →

Dear Neighbor,

This week was a long one—and it’s still not over! The House will be in session through tomorrow to consider several important pieces of legislation. I spoke about what’s been happening today on the House Floor in a Facebook Live here.

It was a busy week in the Energy & Commerce Committee as we reviewed several pieces of legislation that deal with protecting you and your privacy online. This is of utmost importance to me and my colleagues because you deserve to be protected, not taken advantage for advertisers and third-party groups that use and sell your data for their own benefit. For more on this, take a look below. Continue reading →

This week, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw and I urged Floridians to help us fight the opioid crisis by participating in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday.

Tomorrow, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Floridians can safely dispose of unused, unwanted and expired medications at a local drop-off location. National Drug Take Back Day is a biannual event hosted by the Drug Enforcement Administration every April and October.

Nationally, more than 112,000 people died from drug overdose in 2023. According to the 2022 Florida Department of Law Enforcement Medical Examiners Annual Report, Florida lost more than 8,000 to opioid-related overdoses. Continue reading →