Attorney General's Weekly Newsletter
Volume 7, Issue 35 • September 4,2009

According to recent figures, 360,149 homes fell into foreclosure last month. That number is up 6.43 percent from June. The increasing number of home foreclosures in the state indicates that many Florida homeowners are facing unprecedented tough economic times and are in need of assistance to prevent foreclosure.

This week, my office and the Florida Bar Foundation awarded $2 million in grants to organizations around the state to fund free foreclosure legal defense work for Floridians in need of legal assistance to keep their homes. The funding for these grants came from a settlement my office negotiated with Countrywide Financial last October.

Over the next two years, a total of $4 million will be made available to fund attorneys and paralegals who will work to help Florida’s families get back on their feet and stay in their homes. I am confident the difference these attorneys will make in the lives of these people will be significant. I am thrilled that my office has been able to secure these funds to assist citizens with a hand up in these tough economic times.

Consumer Protection Actions:


Attorney General McCollum and the Florida Bar Foundation awarded approximately $700,000 in grants to several South Florida non-profit organizations to fund free foreclosure legal defense work. A total of $4 million will be available statewide over two years to fund attorneys and paralegals who will provide free legal assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure. The grants were funded by the Attorney General’s settlement with Countrywide Financial last October.

Attorney General McCollum announced that a new Medicaid fraud informant program, created by statute, will receive $1 million from a settlement with Pfizer, Inc. The program is intended to financially reward informants who provide original information on Medicaid fraud violations that leads to the recovery of a fine, civil or criminal penalties, or forfeiture of property.

Attorney General Bill McCollum and The Florida Bar Foundation today awarded $85,000 to the Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar Association, Inc. to be used for a new foreclosure defense assistance program. The program is funded by money obtained by the Attorney General through a settlement with Countrywide Financial. A total of $4 million will be available over two years to fund additional lawyer and paralegal positions devoted to providing free assistance to homeowners facing foreclosures who cannot afford legal defense.

Criminal Proceedings:


An Orange County man has been sentenced to 35 years in prison and $510,000 in fines for criminal racketeering charges and drug trafficking charges stemming from his involvement in a narcotics trafficking enterprise in Central Florida. Juan Javier Romo-Jimenez, of Apopka, was prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.

A Gadsden County woman has been arrested on charges she defrauded the Florida Medicaid program out of more than $7,000. Marsha Perkins Hunter turned herself over to authorities in Leon County.

A Brevard County woman has been arrested for defrauding the Florida Medicaid program out of more than $4,000. Tavia Denise Hines was arrested by law enforcement officers with the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit with assistance from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.

Civil Litigation:


Attorney General McCollum sued a Delaware company, Systemax, and its subsidiaries, Tigerdirect and Onrebate, over allegations the companies failed to pay advertised rebates to consumers. Systemax, through Tigerdirect, offers a variety of electronic merchandise for sale at discounted prices though its retail outlets, catalogs and website, www.tigerdirect.com. The company allegedly offered and advertised products with rebate incentives, falsely representing to consumers they would receive the rebates in approximately 8-10 weeks.

Attorney General McCollum announced that his office filed a lawsuit against a Boca Raton company that allegedly preyed on aspiring authors. According to the Attorney General’s lawsuit, Writer’s Literary Agency and owner Robert Fletcher used more than 20 websites and related companies to collect funds from potential authors, but misled victims about fees, costs, and promised results.

Attorney General McCollum announced that Florida will receive a total of $58.2 million as part of a global settlement with Pfizer Inc. The agreement resolves civil and criminal allegations that Pfizer and its subsidiaries paid kickbacks and engaged in off-labeling marketing campaigns that improperly promoted numerous drugs that Pfizer manufactures. Pfizer will pay the states and the federal government a total of $1 billion in civil damages and penalties to compensate Medicaid, Medicare, and various federal health care programs for harm suffered as a result of its conduct. Florida’s civil case was handled by the Attorney General’s Complex Civil Enforcement Bureau, which is a part of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

News Releases:


SUR 13 Gang Member and Drug Trafficker Sentenced to 35 Years for Criminal Racketeering, Conspiracy to Traffic Cocaine

Attorney General Sues Company for Cheating Consumers Out of Rebates

Gadsden County Woman Arrested for Defrauding Medicaid Out of More Than $7,000

Attorney General Presents $700,000 in Grants Through Mortgage Foreclosure Defense Fund

Attorney General Files Lawsuit Against "Literary Company"

McCollum Announces Funding for Medicaid Fraud Informant Reward Program

McCollum: Florida Recovers $58.2 Million from Pfizer Inc. in Billion Dollar Medicaid Settlement

Brevard County Women Arrested for Defrauding Medicaid Out of More Than $4,000

Attorney General: Florida Celebrates 100 Years of Sunshine

McCollum: Orange County Legal Aid to Get $85,000 Through Mortgage Foreclosure Defense Fund

Additional Notes:


Attorney General McCollum recognized the 100th anniversary of Florida’s public records laws, noting the first public records law was enacted in August 1909. The law declared that all state, county and municipal records be open for a personal inspection of any citizen of Florida. An 1975 amendment to this statute removed the citizenship requirement.