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Weekly Message from Attorney General Bill McCollum
Here in Florida, we have expanded our efforts to keep our children safe online, but investigation and prosecution is only half of that battle. Education is the key to winning the fight against internet child predators. With only a couple of months left in the school year, my office is still working to get our CyberSafety presentations into as many schools as possible to educate our children about internet safety.
Last week, my CyberSafety Program exceeded the 50,000 student mark, reaching more than 53,000 students to date throughout the state. But we need to reach them all. Every parent, grandparent, teacher and child need to know the facts and must be ready to help us stop these predators before they can hurt other children.
Earlier this year, I was joined by Education Commissioner Eric Smith to announce a statewide CyberSafety challenge to school principals to sign their schools up for CyberSafety Education presentations. Volunteers from my office have been traveling throughout the state since the beginning of the school year, bringing this very important message to our children. I have personally presented this program to numerous students in various cities, including two schools earlier this week in Port St. Lucie and Stuart.
Yesterday, I spoke with all of Florida's District School Superintendents and urged them to support this initiative by appointing someone within every single school district to facilitate this process. This cooperative approach is essential as we work to reach as many children as possible.
Principals can visit http://www.safeflorida.net/safeschools to log into a site developed specifically to register schools to receive the Attorney General's CyberSafety presentation, and then sign up for presentations at a time that works with their schedules. Please encourage your child's principal to do so.
The presentations are available to schools as well as parent groups and have been hailed as among the best in the nation by John Walsh, co-founder of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and host of America's Most Wanted. This cybersafety message will save lives, and I applaud the principals who have made it a priority to get this information to their students. Together, we will continue making Florida a safer place for our children.
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Attorney General McCollum announced that a Jacksonville man has been taken into custody on charges of possessing child pornography and promoting the sexual performance of a child. Investigators with the Attorney General’s CyberCrime Unit discovered images of child pornography being traded online during a routine undercover operation and traced the images back to Jeremiah Peters, a 21-year old Jacksonville resident. Peters was arrested by law enforcement officers with the CyberCrime Unit and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
Attorney General McCollum announced that his CyberSafety Program has exceeded the 50,000 student mark, reaching 52,941 students to date throughout the state. The program combines real-life stories and examples to help middle and high school students identify ways they could be victimized by predators online and encourages safe internet use. Members of the Attorney General’s Child Predator CyberCrime Unit have been bringing the 50-minute cybersafety program students statewide since the beginning of the school year. The school which pushed the program over the 50,000 student mark was Sebastian Middle School in St. Johns County.
To date, the Attorney General's CyberSafety Presentation has reached more than 53,000 students.
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Attorney General McCollum issued a consumer advisory on mortgage fraud and foreclosure-related scams. Noting that Florida now ranks first in the nation for the number of home foreclosures, the Attorney General encouraged Floridians to educate themselves about the various types of mortgage fraud and learn about the foreclosure process to protect themselves from becoming potential victims.
Attorney General McCollum announced that his office has sued three Broward County companies and their owners for their alleged roles in a foreclosure rescue scheme. The lawsuit names Florida Housing Council, LLP; Equity Investment Capital Management, Inc.; Star Enterprises, LLC, and Jack Moussa and Rose Moussa as the participants in a deceptive operation that defrauded hundreds of thousands of dollars in home equity from numerous homeowners in the foreclosure process.
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Attorney General McCollum announced that a former New York City resident was convicted of organized scheme to defraud for her participation in a mortgage fraud operation. Melissa Sabrina Miranda was sentenced to three years in prison, to be followed by 10 years probation, and must pay $1.4 million in restitution to multiple lenders in South Florida. She is also banned from the real estate licensure business. The case was prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.
Attorney General McCollum announced that a former vice president and a former account executive for one of the nation’s largest subprime lenders have been charged with operating a mortgage fraud scheme that spanned more than two years and involved loans in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Polk counties. Orson Benn, former vice president of Argent Mortgage Company and Constance Golder, an account executive, were part of an elaborate scheme to defraud that included two mortgage brokers, David Tuggle, Jr., and Eric Steinhauser, who were also charged today. The four individuals will be prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.
Attorney General McCollum announced that the owner of a Tampa construction company has been sentenced to five years in prison and five years probation for his involvement in an organized scheme to defraud. Michael Lee Cone, president and owner of Cone Constructors, Inc., was previously convicted in a jury trial of defrauding the Florida Department of Transportation and various subcontractors. The case was prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.
Attorney General McCollum announced that a Jacksonville man received an eight-year prison sentence for conspiring to traffic cocaine. Victor Smith was sentenced today for his involvement in a cocaine trafficking ring which supplied drugs from Miami to drug dealers in Clay and Duval counties. Smith and several co-defendants were prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.
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Attorney General Advises Consumers About Potential Mortgage Fraud Scams, Offers Tips to Protect Homes
Jacksonville Man Arrested for Possession, Distribution of Child Pornography
McCollum: FAMU Commended for Successful Implementation of University Student Alert System
Attorney General's Statement on the House's Passage of the Foreclosure Fraud Prevention Act
Broward Companies, Couple Sued for Foreclosure Rescue Scam
Unlicensed Mortgage Broker Gets 3 Years in Prison for Fraud
McCollum: CyberSafety Messages Reaches More Than 50,000 Students
Former Vice President, Account Executive of Subprime Mortgage Lender Charged with Racketeering, Mortgage Fraud and Grand Theft
Owner of Tampa Construction Company Gets Five Years for Organized Scheme to Defraud
Jacksonville Cocaine Trafficker Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison
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Attorney General McCollum issued a bi-weekly audio message as another avenue to communicate his commitment to these priority issues within the Attorney General's Office. Below is a link to the current audio message published in this series, with regular messages to follow on a bi-weekly basis.
http://www.clickcaster.com/billmccollum
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On Wednesday, the Attorney General gave two CyberSafety presentations to students at Port St. Lucie and Stuart middle schools. The Palm Beach Post's coverage of the event is online here and the Stuart News covered the piece here.
Also on Wednesday, the Attorney General filed a lawsuit against three Broward Companies and two individuals for allegedly engaging in a foreclosure rescue scam. The Sun Sentinel's article on the lawsuit is here and the Miami Herald's article is here.
Yesterday, the Attorney General praised the FAMU Chief of Police for the university’s successful implementation of the student alert system. The story was featured on a local news channel here.
The Attorney General's CyberCrime Unit was featured on Jacksonville's First Coast News last night. The story is available here after a short commercial.
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