“Officials use Orlando man, attempted insurance fraud, as example of abuse”
Florida Politics
Story by Les Neuhaus
March 22, 2017
Click HERE to read the full story
Orange County and state officials are making an example of a man who attempted to collect a bogus insurance claim on his car after reporting it stolen, accusing him of arson and insurance fraud.
Michael Abrams, 43, is now held on $50,000 bond in an Orange County detention facility, a statement said Wednesday.
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He stands accused of devising a plan to have his 2016 Toyota Camry stolen and destroyed so that he could collect an insurance payout totaling $10,000, the statement continues.
“More often than not, acts of arson are committed in order to collect insurance payouts or to cover up a larger crime,” said Florida Chief Financial Officer 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.”
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In early December 2016, a crew from the Orange County Fire Rescue (OCFR) department responded to a vehicular fire. The car had previously reported stolen from New York state by Abrams.
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Suspicious, a supervisor with OCFR reached out to the Florida State Fire Marshall’s Office to investigate the cause and origin of the fire and that’s when Abrams’ story didn’t add up.
After being questioned by investigators, he admitted paying another man $300 to destroy his car while he simultaneously reported it stolen.
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Florida Politics
ICYMI: Florida Politics: Rick Scott harangues Duval Delegation, pushes incentives in Jacksonville
Rick Scott harangues Duval Delegation, pushes incentives in Jacksonville
Florida Politics
A.G. Gancarski
March 20, 2017
When Gov. Rick Scott comes to your town to hold a “Fighting for Florida’s Jobs” round table, that means your GOP State Representatives crossed him on an incentive vote.
Scott started off March in Rep. Travis Cummings‘ district, where he repeatedly jabbed at Cummings and Rep. Paul Renner for opposing Enterprise Florida and Visit Florida.
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Reps. Cord Byrd, Clay Yarborough, and Jason Fischer all voted against incentives, as did Democrats Tracie Davis and Kim Daniels.
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“We’ve done over 900 projects around the state,” Scott said, “and we don’t put the money out unless the jobs are created.
Scott discussed tourism, of course, in the context of Visit Florida.
“In our state, one out of six jobs comes from tourism,” Scott noted. “For every dollar we spend, we get three dollars back on taxes … if we lost all our tourists, taxes would go up $1,500” per household.
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“Cord Byrd, Kim Daniels, Jason Fischer, and Clay Yarborough — they voted to get rid of Enterprise Florida along with Tracie Davis,” Scott said.
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“Jobs aren’t going to grow themselves. We’re going to have to go out and get them,” Love said.
Councilor Aaron Bowman, who also is Senior VP of JAXUSA, noted that 2,500 Amazon.com jobs wouldn’t have come to Jacksonville without incentives.
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Councilor Danny Becton, whose district houses Johnson and Johnson, noted that “it was close” between Jacksonville and Ireland — and incentives make the difference.
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Benefits of incentives go beyond Duval. In Nassau County, the Lignotech deal — trumpeted months back as a source of high-wage skilled jobs — may be an anomaly, if incentive money dries up.
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The case for Florida, Scott said, is made in “telling our story.”
In that context, incentive programs offer the megaphone.
ICYMI: Florida Politics: "Jeff Atwater wins first round of $1 billion bonds fight with feds"
“Jeff Atwater wins first round of $1 billion bonds fight with feds”
Florida Politics
Story by Jim Rosica
February 9, 2017
Click HERE to read the full story.
Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater has scored a preliminary win in his fight against the federal government over U.S. savings bonds he holds as unclaimed property.
The U.S. Treasury has agreed to redeem “just over 1,000 bonds, worth a little more than half a million dollars, excluding accrued interest,” Atwater spokeswoman Ashley Carr said Thursday.
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In November, Atwater sued the feds for that amount, saying they had refused to make good on matured U.S. savings bonds he holds as unclaimed property.
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“The bonds they’ve agreed to redeem are those in our physical possession and bonds for which we had records and had previously returned to the U.S. Treasury,” Carr said. Atwater’s office plans to give the proceeds from the bonds “to whom they belong, or their heirs.”
“We’re a long way from the finish line, but it’s a win worth celebrating,” Carr said.
The Department of Financial Services, which Atwater heads, is holding thousands of “unclaimed, matured savings bonds that were originally registered to individuals with last-known addresses in the State of Florida,” his suit says. Some of the bonds date back to the 1930s.
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Florida’s piece is one small part of the pie: “… over $19 billion in matured, unredeemed U.S. savings bonds remain outstanding nationwide,” Atwater has said.
