Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater today released an open farewell letter to Floridians, recounting achievements during his time as one of Florida’s four statewide officials and thanking residents for their confidence in his years of public service. CFO Atwater previously announced that following the 2017 Legislative Session, he will be accepting the position of Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and CFO at Florida Atlantic University.
“For five generations, my family has called Florida home and there is no place in these United States where I would rather live, work and raise a family. In addition to enjoying our great state’s rich natural history and unmatched landscapes, I have had the honor of getting to know many of you personally. From Pensacola to Key West, and all stops in between, I have had the unique privilege of meeting your families, hearing your stories and answering your calls,” said CFO Atwater in the letter.
To read the letter, click HERE.
CFO Jeff Atwater
CFO Atwater Invites Capitol Kids to Play “Money-opolis”
MEDIA ADVISORY
CFO Atwater Invites Capitol Kids to Play “Money-opolis”
on Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day
CFO Jeff Atwater today announced that the Department of Financial Services’ Division of Consumer Services will participate in the Department of Economic Opportunity’s annual Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day event hosted at the Florida Capitol in Tallahassee.
To educate and entertain the children of Capitol employees ages 8-18, the Department will host a giant-sized game of “Money-opolis” for all to enjoy. This larger-than-life take on the classic board game Monopoly was developed as an opportunity to engage children in a way that also teaches them financial literacy skills.
WHAT: “Money-opolis” at Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day Event
WHEN: Thursday, April 27, 2017
10:00 am to 1:00 pm EST
WHERE: Florida Capitol Building
22nd Floor
400 S. Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Fla. 32399
Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, a statewide elected official, oversees the Department of Financial Services. CFO Atwater’s priorities include fighting financial fraud, abuse and waste in government, reducing government spending and regulatory burdens that chase away businesses, and providing transparency and accountability in spending. Follow the activities of the Department on Facebook (FLDFS) and Twitter (@FLDFS).
CFO and State Fire Marshal Jeff Atwater Honors Florida Fire Service Award Winners
Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Jeff Atwater honored the winners of the 2017 Fire Service Awards during a reception hosted Monday evening at the Florida Capitol. The annual award ceremony honors those in the fire service community who have shown excellence in their profession. Award winners were also recognized by Governor Rick Scott, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Commissioner Adam Putnam, and CFO Jeff Atwater during Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting.
“These award winners are men and women who exemplify what it means to be a leader, and I am proud to celebrate their professional success,” said CFO and State Fire Marshal Jeff Atwater. “These individuals, along with all firefighters and first responders across Florida, willingly risk their own lives every day and often run into dangerous situations when others are running out. Their dedication makes each of them a hero in my eyes.”
CFO Atwater presented the following awards:
- Darrel Donatto, Fire Chief of the Year – Palm Beach County Fire Rescue
- Ryan Gallik, Career Firefighter of the Year & Fire Service Instructor of the Year – St. Cloud Fire Rescue
- James “David” Dietz, Forestry Firefighter of the Year – Florida Forest Service; Chipola Forestry Center
- Ted Ross, Fire Marshal of the Year – Tice Fire District
- Jackie de la Osa, Fire Inspector of the Year – North Collier Fire Control & Rescue District
- Keith Tyson, Professional Firefighter of the Year – Vice President of Education Research and Outreach for Florida Cancer Support Network
- Brock Dietz, Fire Investigator of the Year – Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office, Tallahassee Field Office
- Earl Gray, Volunteer Firefighter of the Year – Highland Lakes Fire Department
- Robert Lemons, Fire and Life Safety Public Educator of the Year – Boca Raton Fire Rescue Services
- Fire Academy of the South, Training Center of the Year – Florida State College at Jacksonville
To view video footage via the Florida Channel, click HERE.
CFO Jeff Atwater Unveils New Financial Literacy Program Tailored to Teach Middle and High School Students
Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater today announced the release of Finance Your Future, his latest and most advanced financial literacy program yet. Designed with middle and high school students in mind, CFO Atwater is connecting the free program to the classroom and encouraging Florida teachers to incorporate it into their lesson plans. Built to be as interactive as a video game, Finance Your Future’s engaging content, animation, games and activities offer a relevant refreshing approach to learning about financial literacy for adolescents and adults alike.
“Teachers and parents have the incredibly important jobs of fostering successful futures through learning,” said CFO Atwater. “They deserve all the support possible, and I’m proud to offer them a ready-made product that I hope will prove invaluable to teaching lessons about financial literacy. I think this program can teach adults a few new financial tools, too.”
Beyond containing captivating content, Finance Your Future was built to satisfy Florida’s half-credit financial literacy graduation requirement, and each lesson aligns with specific Sunshine State Standards. The Department of Financial Services is actively securing the support of Florida’s 67 social studies coordinators, who are in charge of selecting their county’s social studies curriculum. So far, more than 20 county coordinators have expressed a desire to bring the program into their classrooms.
“I am excited for the release of Finance Your Future as a valuable resource I can use in my ‘Economics with Financial Literacy’ classes to engage my students in topics relating to personal finance, but also for the opportunity for my students to utilize the program to help them learn how to make wiser choices as consumers, investors and savers,” said R. Eric Fields, an Economics Teacher at Mandarin High School in Jacksonville.
The eight core concepts covered by Finance Your Future are:
- Budgeting and Saving
- Credit Cards
- Banking
- Credit Reports and Credit Scores
- Debt
- Fraud and Scams
- Insurance and Benefits
- Life Events
To access Finance Your Future, click here. To access the other financial literacy programs offered by the Department of Financial Services, click here.
Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Jeff Atwater, a statewide elected official, oversees the Department of Financial Services, serves as Florida’s State Fire Marshal, and is a member of the Florida Cabinet. CFO Atwater’s priorities include fighting financial fraud, abuse and waste in government; reducing government spending and regulatory burdens that chase away businesses; and providing transparency and accountability in spending.
Florida Man Arrested for Setting Car on Fire to Collect Insurance Payout
Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater today announced the recent arrest of Orange County resident Michael Abrams on charges of arson, insurance fraud and grand theft after he was accused of devising a plan to have his 2016 Toyota Camry stolen and destroyed so that he could collect an insurance payout.
“More often than not, acts of arson are committed in order to collect insurance payouts or to cover up a larger crime,” said CFO Jeff Atwater. “To concoct the plan that he did is an elaborate act of fraud—one that undoubtedly drives up the cost of insurance for every Floridian. I’m proud of our investigative team for getting to the truth and putting this man behind bars where he belongs.”
In early December 2016, Orange County Fire Rescue (OCFR) responded to a fire scene involving a vehicle that had reportedly been stolen in the state of New York. When OCFR requested the assistance of the Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office to determine the cause and origin of the fire, investigators began to unravel Abrams’ story.
During interviews with investigators, Abrams admitted to paying an unknown male $300 to take and destroy his car. After reporting it stolen, Abrams filed an insurance claim totaling $10,000. The plan to destroy the car by setting it on fire; however, was interrupted when the fire department was called to the scene of the crime.
Upon confessing to an active role in the burning of his car and the filing of an unlawful insurance claim, Michael Abrams was arrested and charged with several felonies. Abrams was booked into the Orange County Jail, bail was set at $50,000, and he faces 20 years in prison if convicted.
Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Jeff Atwater, a statewide elected official, oversees the Department of Financial Services, serves as Florida’s State Fire Marshal, and is a member of the Florida Cabinet. CFO Atwater’s priorities include fighting financial fraud, abuse and waste in government; reducing government spending and regulatory burdens that chase away businesses; and providing transparency and accountability in spending.
CFO Atwater Features “My Money” Program During Developmental Disability Awareness Month
Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater is celebrating Developmental Disability Awareness Month, observed in March, by featuring a Department of Financial Services’ financial literacy program called “My Money” that was designed to help those with developmental disabilities learn how money works, and how to manage finances with confidence. Knowing that a strong understanding of personal finances is crucial to gaining independence, the Department has designed and championed a series of financial literacy programs that are uniquely tailored to meet the needs of all Floridians. Released last year, My Money is the newest program in the series.
“All Floridians should have strong money management skills, and it is our goal to provide programs that help our state’s residents attain them, regardless of their age, income level or ability,” said CFO Atwater.
The My Money program is a three-step, user-friendly program that allows individuals with developmental disabilities to learn at their own pace in an accessible, easy-to-navigate and interactive format. The self-directed program also includes interactive, how-to videos that teach practical financial skills like using an ATM and writing a check.
- Step One includes personalized lessons on how to recognize coins and paper money and how they are used to purchase goods and services, the difference between a want and a need, and explains the concept of a banking account;
• Step Two provides interactive lessons on how banks and credit unions can help manage finances and outlines the basics of formulating a budget to make sure that one’s expenses don’t exceed one’s income;
• Step Three focuses on understanding and applying for government benefits that are available to help cover household and medical costs, as well as the benefits of securing gainful employment. Step Three also outlines the importance of saving and investing money as a way of planning for the future.
My Money also offers a portal for parents, guardians and support providers of individuals with developmental disabilities to assist in teaching money management skills. This program was developed in partnership with the Florida Department of Education, Agency for Persons with Disabilities, the Commission on Jobs for Floridians with Disabilities, the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council, the Arc of Florida, the Florida Alliance for Assistive Technology, Disability Rights Florida, and the National Disability Institute.
To access the program, click HERE. To access other financial literacy programs available through the Department of Financial Services, click HERE.
Developmental Disability Awareness Month celebrates the abilities, achievements and contributions of those with developmental disabilities.
Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Jeff Atwater, a statewide elected official, oversees the Department of Financial Services, serves as Florida’s State Fire Marshal, and is a member of the Florida Cabinet. CFO Atwater’s priorities include fighting financial fraud, abuse and waste in government; reducing government spending and regulatory burdens that chase away businesses; and providing transparency and accountability in spending.
Insurance Company Employee Arrested for Stealing $1 Million from Employer
Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater today announced the recent arrest of Jennifer Summerlott, a licensed Customer Service Representative, following a scheme that allegedly bilked her Ft. Lauderdale-based employer, Fairway Insurance Group, LLC (Fairway) out of more than $1 million. Summerlott is accused of orchestrating an elaborate scheme to defraud her employer through the use of fake insurance invoices to reroute company funds for her personal financial benefit.
Summerlott served as the accounts payable and commercial lines manager for Fairway from 2006-2015. In 2015, account irregularities were noticed by other Fairway staff members who, after suspecting that they might have uncovered insurance fraud, reported their findings to the Fort Lauderdale Police Department. The case was referred to insurance fraud investigators within the Department of Financial Services’ Division of Investigative and Forensic Services (DIFS).
The subsequent investigation revealed that between 2010 and 2015, Summerlott allegedly created and submitted dozens of fake electronic invoices that were supposedly from various insurance companies that regularly conducted business with Fairway. Summerlott would then prepare company checks tied to Fairway’s company account to pay these fabricated invoices. Doing so enabled Summerlott to retrieve the fake payments and divert them to a personal bank account.
In addition, DIFS’ investigation found that Summerlott refinanced 40 insurance policies that Fairway clients had previously paid in full. As a result, Fairway received checks from third-party financing agencies to cover the cost of the insurance premiums. Summerlott used those payments to cover up the massive company losses that accrued as a result of her fake invoice scheme.
Summerlott was arrested February 27, 2017, and transported to the Broward County Jail. She has been charged with four first-degree felonies, including organized scheme to defraud, grand theft, criminal use personal ID and diverting insurance trust funds.
This case will be prosecuted by the Broward State Attorney’s Office, 17th Judicial Circuit. If convicted, Summerlott faces up to 30 years in prison.
CFO Jeff Atwater Enters Final Session Fighting for Floridians
As lawmakers progress through the final committee week ahead of the 2017 Legislative Session, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater is readying to enter his final Session the same way he began his first nearly two decades ago—fighting for Floridians. Focusing on legacy enhancements to the Department of Financial Services and several measures that will protect policyholders against insurance fraud and during times when insurance companies fail, CFO Atwater looks forward to robust conversations with the Florida House and Senate.
“Since day one, I’ve set out to protect Floridians from fraud, waste and abuse, and this legislative session, I’ve put forward a set of priorities that I believe continue that commitment,” said CFO Atwater. “In addition to enhancing current programs and building in consumer protections, we’re looking at ways to address the growing problems associated with the misuse and abuse of the assignment of benefits tool.”
Several of CFO Atwater’s key legislative initiatives include:
Unclaimed Property
Designed to further streamline Florida’s nationally-recognized unclaimed property program, bills filled by Senator Jeff Brandes (SB 536) and Representative Chuck Clemons (HB 681) offer changes to current unclaimed property processes that allow individuals known as surplus trustees to return funds remaining following foreclosure proceedings—for a fee of up to 12 percent. The bill eliminates the Surplus Trustee Program and allows Division of Unclaimed Property staff to process those unclaimed property claims as all others, in-house and without cost to the consumer.
Insurance Fraud
Aimed at improving processes and honing investigative techniques, bills filed by Senator Jeff Brandes (SB 1012) and Representative Holly Raschein (bill number forthcoming) require insurance companies to develop anti-fraud plans that will be submitted to the Department of Financial Services annually; requires in-house fraud-fighting units within insurance companies be trained by the Department’s insurance fraud investigators; and allows the Chief Financial Officer to assign and re-assign dedicated prosecutors as fraud trends change in scope and location.
Insurance Rehabilitation and Liquidation
Bills filed by Senator Kathleen Passidomo (SB 730) and Representative Jake Raburn (HB 837) are designed to streamline Florida’s insurance receivership process. When an insurance company fails financially, the Department of Financial Services steps in to help. The process is called receivership, and the Department works to determine if the company can be saved through rehabilitation or if it must be liquidated. There are many debtors and typically insufficient funds to pay all outstanding debts. This common sense legislation clarifies the deadlines for debtors to submit claims, streamlines payment processes and timelines, and outlines the obligations of the insurance company to cooperate with Department staff.
In addition to these Departmental priorities, CFO Atwater and the Department of Financial Services will play an active role in ongoing legislative discussions involving assignment of benefits (AOB), an insurance tool in which a consumer assigns their rights to the company they’ve hired to make repairs. A sharp rise in the number of claims involving AOBs has led to rising insurance company costs and resulted in several companies starting to raise rates to recoup losses.
To learn more about the Department of Financial Services, click HERE.
Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, a statewide elected official, oversees the Department of Financial Services, serves as Florida’s State Fire Marshal, and is a member of the Florida Cabinet. CFO Atwater’s priorities include fighting financial fraud, abuse and waste in government, reducing government spending and regulatory burdens that chase away businesses, and providing transparency and accountability in spending. Follow the activities of the Department on Facebook (FLDFS) and Twitter (@FLDFS).
Gov. Rick Scott: CFO Atwater has fought for Florida families
Governor Rick Scott made the following statement regarding the news that Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater will be joining Florida Atlantic University following the 2017 Legislative Session.
Governor Rick Scott said, “I got to know CFO Jeff Atwater well in 2010 on the campaign trail, and like me, he has been laser-focused on keeping the cost of living low for all Floridians. I am proud that the state has paid down over $7.6 billion in debt since 2011 and CFO Atwater has aggressively helped us achieve that goal. He has fought to reduce burdensome regulations that hinder job growth, protect families from financial fraud and has traveled the state to return more than $1 billion in unclaimed property to its rightful owners. CFO Atwater is a proud Floridian, father, husband and friend and I will truly miss working with him. The role of the CFO is incredibly important to our state and I will begin the process to appoint someone to serve Florida families.”
CFO Atwater announces future plans
Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater announced today that following the 2017 Legislative Session he will be accepting the position of Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Chief Financial Officer of Florida Atlantic University. In this capacity Atwater will lead strategic initiatives and economic development opportunities for FAU as well as manage the University’s finances and budget.
“President Kelly has assembled a truly visionary executive leadership team and faculty, who are ideally positioned to move Florida Atlantic University into a higher echelon of academic achievement and recognition. I am honored to join FAU in such a significant capacity. While I would have preferred to embrace this opportunity at a later date, the timing of crucial University initiatives warranted an accelerated transition. In the near term I will remain focused on the Department of Financial Services’ legislative agenda through the conclusion of the session and provide Governor Scott sufficient time to thoughtfully consider the selection of Florida’s next CFO,” Atwater said.
Under CFO Atwater’s guidance, the Department of Financial Services has received national recognition for its management of the State’s financial systems and processes, including awards for superior financial transparency, aggressively pursuing insurance fraud, leading the country in returning unclaimed property to its rightful owners and providing a broad array of financial literacy programs to Florida residents. The Department lead a nationwide effort to identify insurance benefits that had wrongly been withheld by insurance carriers and successfully obtained hundreds of millions of dollars in benefits that were returned to Florida’s citizens. As State Fire Marshal the department overhauled firefighter training, career advancement and is now pursuing a statewide initiative to eliminate the tragic frequency of cancers prevalent among firefighters.
CFO Atwater has enjoyed a lengthy relationship with FAU. “The South Florida community has long known of my enthusiastic support of Florida Atlantic University. First, as a banker, collaborating with the mission and economic engine of the University, then as a legislator representing their varied campuses and priorities and lastly as a parent of FAU students. President Kelly guides an inspired faculty and celebrates the growing achievements of the most diverse university student body in Florida. I am truly excited to accept responsibility for strategically developing public private partnerships and other initiatives to enhance the mission of the University while maintaining its historically sound financial management,” added Atwater.
“As I prepare to exchange my service to the people of Florida from the position of their CFO to the position of CFO of one of the State’s most vibrant universities, I am grateful for the commitment of all those I have served with these past six years and all those I will serve with in the future,” he concluded.
Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Jeff Atwater, a statewide elected official, oversees the Department of Financial Services, serves as Florida’s State Fire Marshal, and is a member of the Florida Cabinet. CFO Atwater’s priorities include fighting financial fraud, abuse and waste in government; reducing government spending and regulatory burdens that chase away businesses; and providing transparency and accountability in spending.
