TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – On Monday, Florida CFO Blaise Ingoglia announced that six people had been arrested after a scheme to steal $1.7 million from the state was uncovered.
In a release, Ingoglia said that the scam involved processing property damage claims through the Florida Division of Risk Management.
State investigators ultimately caught all six suspects and took them into custody, though, Ingoglia added.
According to the release, those six suspects are as follows:
Briana McCarthy — A former employee of the Department of Financial Services, who led the operation and processed over 220 suspicious property damage claims, resulting in $1.7 million in fraudulent payouts
Charged with grand theft, aggravated white-collar crime, money laundering, scheme to defraud, criminal use of personal identification information, communications fraud, official misconduct, and forgery
Brianna Hannan — Former employee of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation
Carlotta Hawkins — Former employee of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation
Kearia Walker
Whitney Branch
Kavon Reese
[BELOW: Ingoglia unveils legislation to boost local government transparency, accountability]
“Let me be crystal clear: if you steal from Florida taxpayers, you will go to jail,” Ingoglia said. “Our Criminal Investigations Division investigators are working hard to put bad actors behind bars and hold fraudsters accountable. As CFO, I will not allow waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars to be left unchecked, and I will pursue any criminal attempting to steal from the taxpayers to the fullest extent of the law.”
Ingoglia also said that more arrests are expected to be made in the coming weeks, and investigators urge anyone involved to voluntarily come forward.
No additional information has been provided at this time.
[BELOW: Florida CFO discusses ‘wasteful spending’ in news conference]
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