Florida Criminal Defense Blog

Via the Taxgirl, Florida state Legislator Darryl Rouson has proposed a 5% tax on drug paraphernalia. The purpose of the tax would be to contribute the proceeds to help fund Florida drug addition and treatment programs.

This is certainly an interesting idea that is widely impractical.

Generally a criminal charge of possession of drug paraphernalia depends on the context of it’s use. You can be charged with possession of paraphenelia if the prosecution thinks it can make a case that what otherwise might be a common household item was being used to consume,  use, package or prepare drugs. If a pile of drugs is found next to a scale and baggies, then a case can be argued that they are drug related items.

But in the context of a legal purchase, that distinction doesn’t make any sense. Does that mean Ziploc bags must have a 5% surcharge? A 2 liter soda bottle? Duct tape? The list of items that could be considered paraphernalia is huge, facinating, and strange.

I look forward to seeing how such legislation could be passed or implemented. More than likely, this idea will be buried before it gets very far along in the process.

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If you are facing a criminal charge or drug possession, or drug paraphernalia in Florida, please contact us for a case evaluation on the charges you face. The initial legal consultation is absolutely free.

Jails are big expenses to the taxpayers, and Sarasota County has been working hard for creative and efficient solutions to put off building another jail.

Programs have included efforts to speed up the criminal justice court process, reducing the time required for defendants to be behind bars, to efforts to treat people with addiction problems at secure, but less expensive drug and alcohol treatment facilities, such as First Step.

Pre-trial screening programs that run 24 hours a day, and Friday sweeps to process and clear out minor misdemeanor offenders or minor probation violations before the weekend, and weeks before cases are ultimately resolved are also showing real benefits.

Jail is a significant expense to a community. The need for 24 hour guards, not to mention maintenance, food, laundry, and basic needs for the inmates can be huge. But besides the cost savings to the community, these program have a significant side-effect of actually being fairer and more humane to people caught up in the Florida criminal justice system.

No one wants to compromise the security of the community, but these moves try to strike a balance between efficiency and justice.

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If you are charged and arrested for a crime in Florida, please contact our FL criminal defense lawyers. Statewide coverage, free defense consultations.

Florida is retaining it’s title as the state with the highest mortgage fraud rates in the nation. But as the real estate market’s downward death spiral continues, the nature of the fraud continues to evolve to match the criminal opportunities available.

When the market was strong, mortgage fraud cases revolved around fraudulent applications for loans that applicants had no intention (or means) to pay off, intending to flip the properties in a then-hot real estate market.

But the nature of mortgage fraud cases today is about ripping off innocent and desperate homeowners looking to find a way out of crippling payments that they can’t afford. The criminals target people who are soon to be forclosed upon, and offer them help in working out payments or refinacing. But what they actually do is have you sign over your home, and use the controlling interest to borrow against any remaining equity you have, and walk away.

Part of the problem, law enforcement officials suggest,  has been Florida’s minimal licensing requirements for anyone who calls themselves a licensed mortgage broker. But in desperate times, it is easier to take advantage of desperate people. And finding potential victims has never been easier.

And prosecutors are overwhelmed with these cases. And since some of them initially can be classified as civil disagreements, criminal prosecution isn’t always the top priority for district attorneys who are already swamped.

Most people agree that something must be done to reign in these criminal practices, but for now, the best advice is for everyone to be exceedingly careful about who you do business with regarding your real estate financial problems.

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If you are accused of mortgage fraud, fraud, or any criminal charge in Florida, please contact us for a defense consultation. We can help you defend your rights in court. Our case evaluation is free to anyone accused of a crime in Florida.

Cash siezed in Florida criminal arrests is subject to forfeiture and can be legally used by police and law enforcement agencies. In Lee County alone, the county sherrif’s office confiscated more than half a million dollars in the last year. Much of the money collected was from Florida drug arrests.

The result of this windfall is more police training funding, and new systems for printing traffic citations from police patrol vehicles.

In addition, at least 15% of all seized cash from criminal arrests must go to Florida charities, as required by law. Much of that will go to drug abuse counseling and treatment centers, and other organizations hard hit by reduced budgets. This can be a significant boost to charitable funding in a down economy.

Statewide criminal cash confiscation statistics were not available, but it is highly likely that the totals run into the tens of millions of dollars, with Miami-Dade and Broward counties leading the way.

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If you’ve been arrested on any criminal charge in Florida, such as drug possession, contact us for a case evaluation on the charges you are facing. We can provide you with an analysis of your legal options, and help you determine what the likely outcome of fighting the case or pleading guilty would be. We will also explain exactly what we can do to help, and what it will cost you to retain our services. The consultatin is free with no further obligation if you decide not to hire us.

Please call today to get the help and advice you need on any Florida criminal charge.

Application of fraud laws in Florida can be complicated, and depends on intent in order to prove a criminal case, as is outlined in this lengthy article on contractor fraud cases in the St. Pete Times.

The key in pursuing criminal fraud charges is about the intent of the person or company accused. If they agreed to a contract to perform a job, and had no intention of completing the tasks, then it is a case of fraud.

However, most cases where businesses do not live up to the contractual agreements expected by individuals or other businesses, are at least initially considered to be a bad business decision or practice, or a simple contract dispute.

Clearly this outcome is frustrating to anyone who believes they’ve been scammed. One of the issues is that prosecutors like to win cases, and they prefer simple cases.

In the article, many of these contractor fraud cases have only been pursued as criminal matters due to the victims on research and perseverance investigating and finding previous clear prior evidence of other victims with similar stories.

For a criminal prosecution of consumer fraud, most district attorney’s are going to want to see this clear pattern of intent to defraud. If that isn’t perfectly clear, then these cases are both difficult to prove and complicated to prosecute.

But it cases where a person clearly took money in return for no good or services, the defendant could be facing serious fraud and grand theft charges.

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If you are accused of committing criminal fraud in Florida, please contact us to speak about your case. If you face criminal charges, you need the advice of an experienced Florida criminal defense lawyer. We can offer our advice and a case evaluation of your charges as part of a free consultation, so call today.

According to this article in the Miami Herald, the state of Florida tops the nation in mortgage fraud cases. This has happened in spite of the fact that Florida enacted tough penalties for mortgage fraud last year, which made the crime a 3rd degree felony. A third degree felony is punishable by up to 5 years in prison, and $5000 in fines Florida lawmakers are proposing increasing the charge to a 2nd degree felony, which would carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, and a $10,000 fine.

Mortgage fraud is the crime of falsifying financial records to get or improve the terms of a mortgage to by a home. Florida is one of the hardest hit states for foreclosures on homes and condos, partially due to the wild speculation that was done in flipping condos and vacation homes when the real estate market was booming. The easy money while the market was rising made mortgage fraud a tempting crime, especially when everyone was making money.

But not that the boom times are over,  and banks are desperate to get back some of the loans they issued, the fact that many people were acting in a criminal manner to borrow money is a serious problem.

If you are accused of mortgage fraud, please contact us for a criminal defense consultation.