Economic Crimes Unit (ECU) in Sarasota County, FL
According to a recent press release by the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, in 2023, fraud-related financial loss in Sarasota County totaled nearly 15 million, which was up nearly 33% from the prior year. In most of these cases, the victim’s money cannot be located or returned.
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office created the Economic Crimes Unit (ECU) in October of 2021, as a component of the Investigations Bureau. Detectives in the ECU investigates complex financial and digital crimes and conduct follow-up investigations involving cyber and financial crimes. Economic Crimes Unit can be reached at fraud@sarasotasheriff.org
The Economic Crimes Unit works closely with federal, state, and local partners. The most common forms of economic crimes investigated by ECU include:
- Credit card fraud
- Check fraud
- Forgery
- Theft of intellectual property
- Ransomware
ECU also focused on economic crimes that involve the use of a computer or cell phone including:
- Phishing
- Tech support scams
- Charity scams
- Romance scams
Detectives with the ECU work with the Florida Attorney General’s Office to seize cryptocurrency owned by foreign nationals. ECU also works with the Stateside Prosecutor’s Office brings charges for the purpose of involving the fugitive disentitlement doctrine to prevent the owner from fighting the forfeiture of cryptocurrency.
Detectives in the ECU can seek recognition as an International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators (IAFCI).
