TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, with the assistance of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, today arrested a business owner for stealing thousands of dollars from the Florida Medicaid program. Rasheia James owned a home health care service company that provided services for Medicaid recipients. According to the investigation, James knowingly created and submitted falsified documents to Medicaid for services not rendered. James allegedly billed Medicaid more than $9,600 for services never provided to customers that needed health and personal support care. Continue reading →

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody today released online safety tips for Floridians in recognition of Safer Internet Day. In 2020, the Federal Bureau of Investigation reported that internet scammers victimized more than 50,000 Floridians, with nearly $300 million lost to online scams. Anyone can fall prey to these schemes—so, Attorney General Moody is issuing a warning to children, seniors and adults on Safer Internet Day to help Floridians guard against fraud.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “No one is completely safe online, and that is why we have developed resources to help protect Floridians on the internet. As we recognize Safer Internet Day, please take a moment to review your online security plan to ensure you are doing all you can to protect your identity, personal information and children from cybercriminals and predators.”

In the past year, Attorney General Moody has released online safety content for Floridians of all ages:

Online Safety for Children

Last month, Attorney General Moody released the 2022 Online Safety Toolkit, designed to help empower parents to teach their children about the dangers of human trafficking online and to create effective online safety plans for safe internet use. The toolkit contains pages of educational material aggregated from federal, state and local public agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Florida law enforcement and technology companies.

Online Safety for Seniors

In an effort to help seniors avoid scams, Attorney General Moody launched the Scams at a Glance program. The online resource provides tips and information through downloadable brochures designed to assist consumers with information and best practices to guard against fraud.

Online Safety for Adults

Attorney General Moody releases Consumer Alerts covering a wide range of topics, with many focusing on various tech-related scams that are reported to the Florida Attorney General’s Office.

Some of the latest, top technology-related Consumer Alerts include:

Malware that Drains Cellphone Batteries and Bank Accounts

Payment App Hack Attacks

QR Code Scams

Tips to Protect Passwords

To view other recent Consumer Alerts, visit Attorney General Moody’s Consumer Alert webpage at MyFloridaLegal.com/ConsumerAlert.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody is declaring victory following a long legal battle with President Joe Biden, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over the federal lockdown of Florida’s cruise industry. Florida is the top state in the nation for cruises with approximately 159,000 hard-working Floridians who depend on the industry for their livelihoods. Good news for those families—following Attorney General Moody’s relentless legal efforts, Biden’s CDC has allowed the Conditional Sailing Order that shuttered the industry to expire, and now the state is moving to end the litigation.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “As the court said, Biden’s industry-wide shutdown was, ‘breathtaking, unprecedented and acutely and singularly authoritarian.’ Furthermore, his draconian order had a very real impact on thousands of Floridians who were just trying to feed their families. I am proud to stand with Governor DeSantis against the shuttering of our cruise industry, and declare victory over a federal government that has proven time and time again that it has no qualms about exceeding its authority—even when it prevents hundreds of thousands of Americans from working.”

In April 2021, Attorney General Moody filed a Complaint for Declaratory and Preliminary and Permanent Injunctive Relief in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The complaint argued that the CDC does not possess the authority to issue yearlong nationwide lockdowns of entire industries. The complaint also contended that the CDC’s actions were arbitrary and capricious, and otherwise violated the Administrative Procedure Act.

Last June, the court granted Attorney General Moody a Preliminary Injunction, essentially shutting down the federal government’s unlawful Conditional Sailing Order in the state of Florida.

Florida fought the CDC all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States. Then, last month, the CDC let the order expire and announced that the order would not be renewed. Additionally, the CDC dismissed its appeal of Florida’s preliminary-injunction motion. Given the federal government’s abandonment of its order, Attorney General Moody today dismissed the matter and issued a statement outlining the legal and practical win for Floridians. Continue reading →

Dear Neighbor,

As we enter the new year, we are faced by mounting challenges posed by the COVID pandemic, economic stagnation, rising inflation, and supply chain disruptions. Even with all of these problems that we face, the new year offers an opportunity to start anew and bring solutions to the table to help all Americans. 

I’m thankful to be spending the first days of this new year at home in North Central Florida visiting with my constituents. It is important for me to be on the ground hearing from folks about the challenges that they are facing in this new year. It continues to be an incredible honor to represent the great people of Florida’s Third Congressional District in Congress.

With all that’s happening this Congress, it is my greatest honor to represent you and hear from you about the issues that matter most. You can read below about what we’ve been up to this week, and as always, you can stay up to date with us here, on our  website, and on  Twitter ,  Facebook ,  Instagram , and  YouTube .

In Liberty,

Dear Friends,

What a great country we live in! Only in America, could a hard-working young man who started out mowing the lawn and washing cars at a funeral home, eventually become the principle and grow that business in to a thriving company with over 100 employees. That young man is now your State Senator and what a blessing and privilege it is to be able to serve you in Tallahassee.

First, a quick update on the redistricting process. As of this writing, the Senate and Congressional maps are just about complete and we expect to hold a vote on the final maps very soon. It was the priority of the Senate to get these done early so that we can focus on other needs of the state. Florida’s citizens should be pleased with the final product as this open process followed a strict procedure and was done fairly and constitutionally.

Also, excited to inform you of some legislation that we have been working on for some time and has recently been filed for consideration. SB 1820, the “Health Care Ethics and Liberty Protection Act” is a bill that would protect doctors and health care providers from being forced to participate in or pay for any health care service that violates their conscience. There are those on the left that believe that health care providers should not be able to refuse to perform or pay for things like abortions and gender reassignment procedures, even if these things are inconsistent with sincerely held religious beliefs. Despite the fact that these procedures do more harm than good and can be very damaging to individuals, we should all at least be able to agree that no one should be forced to participate in something that violates their conscience. This bill would reinforce that right and make it very clear that this will not be tolerated in the State of Florida. Continue reading →

STATE OF FLORIDA

(Executive Order of Suspension)

WHEREAS, Article IV, Section 7(a) of the Florida Constitution provides that the Governor may suspend from office any county officer for commission of a felony; and

WHEREAS, Gary Robert Search is presently serving as a County Commissioner for Sumter County, Florida, District 1, having been elected in 2020 to serve a four-year term; and

WHEREAS, on December 14, 2021, Gary Robert Search was charged by Information with the felony charge of perjury in an official proceeding, in violation of section 837.02(1), Florida Statutes; and

WHEREAS, a violation of section 837.02(1), Florida Statutes, constitutes a felony in the third degree; and Continue reading →

STATE OF FLORIDA

(Executive Order of Suspension)

WHEREAS, Article IV, Section 7(a) of the Florida Constitution provides that the Governor may suspend from office any county officer for commission of a felony; and

WHEREAS, Oren Miller is presently serving as a County Commissioner for Sumter County, Florida, District 5, having been elected in 2020 to serve a four-year term; and

WHEREAS, on December 14, 2021, Oren Miller was charged by Information with the felony charge of perjury in an official proceeding, in violation of section 837.02(1), Florida Statutes; and

WHEREAS, a violation of section 837.02(1), Florida Statutes, constitutes a felony in the third degree; and Continue reading →

WILDWOOD, Fla. – Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees (W.O.K.E.) Act, a legislative proposal that will give businesses, employees, children and families tools to fight back against woke indoctrination. The Stop W.O.K.E. Act will be the strongest legislation of its kind in the nation and will take on both corporate wokeness and Critical Race Theory. Today’s proposal builds on actions Governor DeSantis has already taken to ban Critical Race Theory and the New York Times’ 1619 project in Florida’s schools. For more information about the Stop W.O.K.E. Act, “In Florida we are taking a stand against the state-sanctioned racism that is critical race theory,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “We won’t allow Florida tax dollars to be spent teaching kids to hate our country or to hate each other. We also have a responsibility to ensure that parents have the means to vindicate their rights when it comes to enforcing state standards. Finally, we must protect Florida workers against the hostile work environment that is created when large corporations force their employees to endure CRT-inspired ‘training’ and indoctrination.”

“As the daughter of Cuban exiles who fled from Marxist ideology, I am proud to stand alongside Governor DeSantis and support this proposed legislation that will put an end to wokeness that is permeating our schools and workforce,” said Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez. “This important legislation gives students and employees the resources they need to fight back against discrimination, critical race theory and indoctrination. I’m proud to stand alongside the Governor not only of the free state of Florida but the woke-free state of Florida.” Continue reading →

LARGO, Fla. — Yesterday, First Lady Casey DeSantis announced the launch of a free substance abuse curriculum for schools in the form of a ‘School Assemblies Toolkit’ through Florida’s The Facts. Your Future. campaign. This program directly engages youth in Florida to improve their understanding of the life-altering effects of drug abuse and empowers teens to reach their full potential.

“With the heartbreaking overdose death statistics we’re witnessing across the country, and as a mom of three, I want Florida’s youth to know they have the power to resist and overcome drug use and abuse,” said First Lady Casey DeSantis. “Our The Facts. Your Future. initiative is reinventing the way substance abuse prevention is taught in our schools. It’s not “Just Say No” — it’s “Just Say No and Here’s Why.” Together with community partners, schools can use this toolkit to give kids proper context and perspective on the dangers of drug use.” Continue reading →