Prosecutors and investigators in Florida take on COVID fraud

With trillions of dollars handed out during the pandemic, the opportunity for fraud was ripe. Now federal prosecutors locally are going after the criminals — and the stolen funds. This assistance came in the form of the Paycheck Protection Program, Economic Injury Disaster Loans, the Main Street Lending Program and Unemployment Insurance, all designed to give people and businesses a hand up during a terrifying time. More from the Business Observer.

Check your mailbox, Florida families. You may find $450 inside to spend as you need

Florida families, be on the lookout. A $450 check may be in your mailbox. The one-time, $450-per-child payment will help about 59,000 families in the state amid rising inflation. The money can be used for anything, but the state recommends it be used for back-to-school expenses or filling up at the pump, according to a letter signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. More from the Miami Herald.

Tampa Bay’s taxing issue: Seeking new money amid robust government spendingv

Voters in Pasco and Hillsborough counties this year will again consider ballot measures on new spending financed by new taxes. But neither is dangling accompanying property tax cuts, even with local governments swimming in revenue from record property values. The elected county commissions in both Pasco and Hillsborough are considering budget proposals with status quo property tax rates generating tens of millions of dollars in increased real estate tax revenue. More from the Tampa Bay Times.

If JetBlue gets final clearance for $3.8 billion Spirit buyout, South Florida would lose Spirit’s home office  

Combining discount airline Spirit with JetBlue would create the fifth-largest U.S. airline, if the transaction gains regulatory approval from the Department of Justice. That’s no sure thing, as Spirit executives said multiple times when they urged the company’s stockholders to reject JetBlue’s hostile all-cash bid that emerged in April. More from the Miami Herald.

Lottery gets boost from $50 tickets

The Florida Lottery has seen growth in the sales of instant tickets because of people buying new $50 scratch-off tickets, a lottery official said this week. "When you look at all of our other price points in the last fiscal year, the $1, $2, $5, $20 and $30 games were all down a combined $733 million,” Justin Rock, the lottery’s deputy secretary of product and sales, said Wednesday during a meeting of the state Revenue Estimating Conference. More from the News Service of Florida.

Business Beat - Week of July 29th

Get top news-to-know with Florida Trend's headline-focused video news brief, hosted by digital content specialist Aimée Alexander.