{"id":151064,"date":"2026-02-11T02:48:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T02:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/151064\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T02:48:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T02:48:12","slug":"florida-arrests-6-in-1-7-million-scheme-built-on-more-than-200-fake-state-claims-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/151064\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida arrests 6 in $1.7 million scheme built on more than 200 fake state claims"},"content":{"rendered":"

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Florida <\/a>officials say a former state employee processed more than 220 bogus propertydamage claims that siphoned $1.7 million from taxpayers, leading to the arrests of six people in what investigators call one of the state\u2019s most brazen internal fraud schemes in recent years.<\/p>\n

The Florida Department of Financial Services\u2019 Criminal Investigations Division (CID)<\/a> announced the arrests on Monday after uncovering what they described as a coordinated effort to exploit the state\u2019s Division of Risk Management. According to investigators, the fraudulent claims were submitted and approved over time, allowing the payouts to flow to individuals who had no legitimate losses.<\/p>\n

State leaders condemned the operation and warned that anyone else involved should come forward before investigators identify them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you steal from Florida taxpayers, you will go to jail,\u201d Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia<\/a> said in a statement. He added that CID investigators are \u201cworking hard to put bad actors behind bars and hold fraudsters accountable,\u201d pledging to pursue all individuals responsible \u201cto the fullest extent of the law.\u201d<\/p>\n

Investigators say the operation was led by Briana McCarthy, a former employee with the Department of Financial Services<\/a>. <\/p>\n

McCarthy is accused of exploiting her access to the state\u2019s claims-processing system to push through more than 220 suspicious property-damage claims, resulting in $1.7 million in fraudulent payouts, according to the news release. She faces a wide range of charges, including Grand Theft, Aggravated White-Collar Crime, Money Laundering, Scheme to Defraud, Criminal Use of Personal Identification Information, Communications Fraud, Official Misconduct, and Forgery.<\/p>\n

\"February<\/p>\n

February 9, 2026 – Florida officials announced the arrests of six people accused of orchestrating a $1.7 million fraud scheme in Tallahassee by processing more than 200 fake state property\u2011damage claims, a case unfolding as investigators work to protect taxpayer dollars and identify additional suspects. (Florida Department of Financial Services) <\/p>\n

Five others were also arrested on related charges. Brianna Hannan, previously employed by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, is charged with Grand Theft. Another former DBPR employee, Carlotta Hawkins, faces charges of Grand Theft and Cash Deposit Bank Item with Intent to Defraud.<\/p>\n

\"February<\/p>\n

February 9, 2026 – Florida officials announced the arrests of six people accused of orchestrating a $1.7 million fraud scheme in Tallahassee by processing more than 200 fake state property\u2011damage claims, a case unfolding as investigators work to protect taxpayer dollars and identify additional suspects. (Florida Department of Financial Services) <\/p>\n

Three additional suspects \u2014 Kearia Walker, Whitney Branch, and Kavon Reese \u2014 were also charged with Grand Theft. Branch faces an additional charge of Cash Deposit Bank Item with Intent to Defraud.<\/p>\n

See also: Lake Park homeowner says utility pole crash left him with $30K in damage and no answers<\/a><\/p>\n

State agencies implicated in the case say they are cooperating fully with the investigation. CID officials emphasized that the arrests represent only the first phase of their ongoing work and that more suspects are expected to be identified in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

The division is urging anyone connected to the scheme to step forward voluntarily before investigators reach them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Florida officials say a former state employee processed more than 220 bogus propertydamage claims…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":150099,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[232,234,233],"class_list":{"0":"post-151064","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tallahassee","8":"tag-tallahassee","9":"tag-tallahassee-headlines","10":"tag-tallahassee-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151064"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151064\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}