TALLAHASSEE, Fla.––Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Office of Statewide Prosecution and the Florida Department of Law enforcement today announced the arrest of Ralph Alonso Everett Jr. and Isaiah Lewis, both from Miami, for allegedly organizing a scheme to steal teachers’ identities to collect unemployment checks. The defendants are responsible for losses to the State of Florida of more than $50,000.

With the assistance of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, law enforcement officers identified patterns of suspicious reemployment assistance claims being deposited into numerous bank accounts connected to the subjects. The investigation identified more than 100 employees associated with 65 different school districts as targets for reemployment Continue reading →

I would like to thank Governor Rick Scott and President Donald Trump for working tirelessly to make schools safe for students. This week I joined Governor Scott and President Trump in two separate roundtable discussions about protecting students in Florida and nationwide—but we are not just talking. Action is imminent.

We must keep weapons out of the hands of the mentally ill. Threats against students have to be aggressively investigated. Schools need more resource officers now. I am working closely with leaders in the House and Senate on all these issues and more to ensure action this legislative session.

We need to amend Florida’s Baker Act to allow law enforcement officers to take guns away from mentally ill people the courts have deemed a threat. Florida needs a Gun Violence Restraining Order to keep weapons out of the hands of people who might enact the type of terror we saw in Parkland last week. My office is working with law enforcement on developing a secure-reporting app to allow students to anonymously report concerning behavior. Continue reading →