Attorney General Ashley Moody's Cyber Fraud Enforcement Unit has successfully dismantled six cyber schemes over the past three months. Starting in October 2024, the unit apprehended seven individuals involved in these cases, which included grandparent scams and identity theft. Three of these schemes specifically targeted seniors in Florida.
Throughout 2024, the Cyber Fraud Enforcement Unit seized nearly $2.4 million in stolen cryptocurrency funds, with more than $100,000 already returned to victims and over $2.2 million still pending for returns.
Attorney General Ashley Moody stated, “Our Cyber Fraud Enforcement Unit works hard to track down cybercriminals seeking to exploit Floridians, especially our seniors. In just the past three months, we have taken down six major cybercrimes. As technology evolves, so do the tactics of scammers, but my office is constantly working to protect Floridians and hold these cybercriminals accountable.”
The unit addressed several cases involving older Floridians:
- Tamer Elia from Fifth Third Bank stole personal identity and bank information from 13 seniors in Florida. The bank identified Elia's actions and collaborated with Moody’s unit to halt the fraud.
- Jose Batista executed a grandparent scam by posing as a grandchild needing money due to a car accident with a pregnant woman. He instructed couriers to collect money withdrawn by victims.
- A fraudulent crypto-trading website mimicking legitimate sites was shut down after it deceived victims into depositing money that went directly into scammers' accounts.
Florida remains one of the few states executing domain seizures as part of its strategy against such crimes.
Other cases tackled by the unit included:
- Jamie Bain who used a university student's identity to secure a $12,000 loan and attempted purchasing a fishing boat.
- Zachary Jones purchased a car using another man's identity before selling it for cash and reporting it stolen.
- Donald Johnson altered business mailing addresses online to his home address to intercept company checks and refunds totaling nearly $140,000.
Attorney General Moody has also provided online resources for Floridians on avoiding cyber scams available in English and Spanish.
Reports of cyber scams can be made to local law enforcement or through the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov.
The CFEU consists of criminal and civil attorneys from the Florida Attorney General’s Office working alongside Florida Department of Law Enforcement analysts and other agencies statewide.