March 29, 2024

Thursday's Afternoon Update

What you need to know about Florida today

| 3/7/2019

Florida Attorney General takes action to stop imposter scam

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Consumer Protection Division is taking action to stop, what they call, an imposter scam.

“This imposter scam involved people posing as government agency representatives in an effort to trick business owners into purchasing public documents and services that are often available for much lower fees,” Moody said.

The complaint filed Wednesday says Steven and Joe Fata solicited payments by giving businesses the false impression that paying for their services was required by law.

Read more from WINK.

Florida Blue's Obamacare Enrollment Steady At 1M After Rival Oscar's Launch

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida tallied 1.1 million Obamacare enrollees for this year, holding its own amid the aggressive entrance of startup Oscar Health into the fast-growing Orlando market.

Florida Blue has successfully fought off allegations brought by Oscar that the state's largest health insurer has engaged in monopolistic unfair business practices. Oscar entered the Florida market for the first time this year as part of a national expansion. [Source: Forbes]

FBI launches anti-money laundering task force in Miami

The FBI has launched the Miami International Corruption Squad, a task force aimed at cracking down on money laundering and bribes to foreign governments. In a March 5 press release, the agency said the new Miami-based team will be staffed with senior agents, forensic accountants, and other personnel with extensive experience investigating white-collar crime and corruption.

The group will help identify violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a U.S. law that makes it illegal to bribe foreign officials. "The international corruption squads were created to combat international corruption by addressing foreign bribery, kleptocracy, and international antitrust matters," the agency said. "Investigations conducted by these squads generally focus on criminal acts occurring outside U.S. borders but having a nexus to the U.S." [Source: South Florida Business Journal]

Retailers pushback against proposed change to Florida's theft laws

An effort to raise a legal threshold that triggers felony charges passed its first hurdle in the Florida House on Tuesday, with some pushback from representatives of retail stores. Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Naples, is proposing legislation (HB 589) that would increase the threshold amount for third-degree felony retail theft from $300 to $1,000 or more.

The bill would also change state law to no longer make it a third-degree felony to steal fire extinguishers, stop signs or property from construction sites. The proposal was approved Tuesday by the House Civil Justice Subcommittee, with the support of organizations seeking reforms to the criminal-justice system. But the Florida Retail Federation was against the proposal because it would loosen penalties for retail theft. A similar proposal in the Senate would raise the threshold to $1,500. If the legislation is approved, the state's Criminal Justice Impact Conference has determined that it would have a "significant" impact on reducing the state's prison population. [Source: Jacksonville Business Journal]

Florida lawmakers propose bill that would ban the banning of plastic straws

A Florida bill proposed by Commerce and Tourism and two Republican Senators aims to reintroduce plastic straws to communities. The bill, SB-588, would ban local authorities from banning plastic straws as well as prohibiting local bans on selling sunscreens that have a significant environmental impact.

Florida Senator Rob Bradley (R) and Travis Hutson (R) set the bill in motion on Wednesday, March 5. The bill goes against Florida's efforts to fix limit the damage caused by plastic straws. In a statement from the state department of environmental protection made to the Guardian, the agency declared: "Plastic straws are one of the many single-use plastics that litter beaches, pollute oceans, and harm wildlife." [Source: WDBJ]

Out of the Box
Fine Arts Society of Sarasota recovers art stolen in 1991

 The Fine Arts Society of Sarasota made a stunning announcement and surprise unveiling during their 50th anniversary cocktail party: Jon Corbino’s “Palette,” which had been part of the Society’s art collection on display at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, and which was stolen in 1991, had been found and returned to the organization.

» More from Florida Trend.

 
Florida's Most Influential Business Leaders
Jonathan Hage, President and CEO, Charter Schools USA, is a fourth-generation Floridian who grew up in Oakland Park near Fort Lauderdale. His father was a music teacher at a public high school. Hage became an officer in the U.S. Army’s Special Forces, then got into education policy, first at the Heritage Foundation and then for Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Florida’s Future. Read More.

 

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