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TALLAHASSEE, FL – Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that an Orlando woman pleaded guilty to multiple charges of grand theft and forgery related to her role as the ring leader of an organized theft ring that defrauded several Central Florida banks and credit unions. Lucie Mae Thomas and seven codefendants were prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.

Thomas, 42, and her codefendants would set up accounts using fraudulent checks and would then make cash withdrawals at various branches of the banks and credit unions. Cooperating codefendants indicated they were making up to $5,000 per day. An investigation conducted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Office of Statewide Prosecution revealed losses in excess of $100,000. Thomas was originally arrested in 2005 and was set for trial last year, but failed to appear. A nationwide search resulted in her arrest in January in a casino in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Thomas pleaded guilty to Racketeering, Conspiracy to Commit Racketeering, 15 counts of grand theft and 15 counts of forgery. Orange County Circuit Judge Rand Wallis will sentence Thomas in October. All seven codefendants have already pleaded guilty to similar charges and received various sentences ranging from 10 years in prison to probation.