Accusations of Public Assistance Fraud in Florida

On April 15, 2025, Attorney General James Uthmeier announced launching the Public Assistance Fraud Task Force (PAFT) and appointed Assistant Statewide Prosecutor Scott Strauss as Special Prosecutor. The public benefit programs offered in Florida include:

• Medicaid
• food assistance
• SNAP
• WIC
• housing
• reemployment assistance
• temporary cash assistance

If you are accused of fraud when receiving, retaining, or using funds from state programs, you can be prosecuted for public assistance fraud. Accusations might focus on forged Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards, unreported or under reported income, and identity theft. 

The Public Assistance Fraud Task Force will streamline investigative and prosecutorial efforts across state agencies for allegations of fraud, abuse, negligence, and exploitation. Many of these investigations overlap with the Florida’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit led by Director Kathleen Von Hoene.

The penalties for public assistance fraud and abuse of taxpayer-funded benefit programs can be charged as a misdemeanor or felony depending on who committed the crime, the way it was committed, and the loss amount.

The Special Prosecutor will evaluate public assistance fraud multi-circuit investigations; help other agencies develop strategies to secure guilty verdicts at trial; assist in the drafting of warrants, affidavits, and other legal work necessary to secure evidence.

Attorney for Public Assistance Fraud in Florida

If you were accused of fraud related to obtaining reemployment assistance, housing assistance, WIC, SNAP, or Medicaid in Florida, contact an experienced criminal defense attorney at Sammis Law Firm. We represent clients in fraud cases throughout the greater Tampa Bay area.

We have offices conveniently located in Tampa in Hillsborough County, New Port Richey in Pasco County, and Clearwater in Pinellas County.

As soon as you learn you are the target of a criminal investigation into public assistance fraud, contact an attorney before making any statements. We can explain how evidence is gathered in these cases, how to correct any mistakes you made Before you make a statement to a law enforcement officer.

• Medicaid
• SNAP
• WIC
• housing
• reemployment assistance

Read more about prosecutions by Florida’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.

Call 813-250-0500.

Fraud Crimes under Section 414.39, Florida Statutes

Florida Statute Section 414.39(1) prohibits anyone from:

• knowingly failing to disclose a material fact used in making a determination as to such person’s qualification to receive public assistance under any state or federally funded assistance program by false statement, misrepresentation, impersonation, or other fraudulent means;
• knowingly failing to disclose a change in circumstances in order to obtain or continue to receive any such public assistance to which he or she is not entitled or in an amount larger than that to which he or she is entitled; or
• helping another person in the commission of this crime.

Florida Statute Section 414.39(2)(a) prohibits anyone from knowingly:

• using, transferring, acquiring, trafficking, altering, forging, or possessing a food assistance identification card, an authorization, including, but not limited to, an electronic authorization, for the expenditure of food assistance benefits, a certificate of eligibility for medical services, or a Medicaid identification card in any manner not authorized by law.

The term “traffic” means:

• Buying, selling, stealing, or otherwise effecting an exchange of food assistance benefits issued and accessed via electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards, electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card numbers and personal identification numbers (PINs), or by manual voucher and signature, for cash or consideration other than eligible food, either directly, indirectly, in complicity or collusion with others, or acting alone;
• Attempting to buy, sell, steal, or otherwise effect an exchange of food assistance benefits issued and accessed via electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards, electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card numbers and personal identification numbers (PINs), or by manual voucher and signature, for cash or consideration other than eligible food, either directly, indirectly, in complicity or collusion with others, or acting alone;
• Exchanging firearms, ammunition, explosives, or controlled substances, as defined in s. 893.02, for food assistance benefits;
• Purchasing with food assistance benefits a product with the intent of obtaining cash or consideration other than eligible food by reselling the product, and subsequently intentionally reselling the product purchased with food assistance benefits in exchange for cash or consideration other than eligible food; or
• Intentionally purchasing products originally purchased with food assistance benefits in exchange for cash or consideration other than eligible food.

Penalties for Public Assistance Fraud

Under Florida Statute Section 414.39(2)(c), you can be charged with a first degree misdemeanor for possessing two or more electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards issued to other persons if you also sell or attempt to sell one or more of these cards. A second or subsequent offense can be charged as a felony of the third degree.

Under Florida Statute Section 414.39(3), any person having duties in the administration of a state or federally funded public assistance program or in the distribution of public assistance, or authorizations or identifications to obtain public assistance, under a state or federally funded public assistance program is prohibited from:

• Fraudulently misappropriating, attempting to misappropriate, or aiding in the misappropriation of:
  • food assistance
  • an authorization for food assistance
  • a food assistance identification card
  • a certificate of eligibility for prescribed medicine
  • a Medicaid identification card
  • public assistance from any other state or federally funded program
• Knowingly misappropriating, attempting to misappropriate, or aiding in the misappropriation of:
  • funds given in exchange for food assistance program benefits
  • for any form of food assistance benefits authorization

Florida Statute Section 414.39(4) prohibits anyone from knowingly receiving, attempting to receive, or aiding in the receipt of unauthorized payment or other unauthorized public assistance or authorization or identification to obtain public assistance including:

• Knowingly filing, attempting to file, or aiding another in filing a claim for services to a recipient of public assistance under any state or federally funded public assistance program for services that were not rendered;
• Knowingly filing a false claim or a claim for nonauthorized items or services under such a program;
• Knowingly billing the recipient of public assistance under such a program, or his or her family, for an amount in excess of that provided for by law or regulation; or
• Knowingly failing to credit the state or its agent for payments received from social security, insurance, or other sources.

The penalties listed in Florida Statute Section 414.39(5) provide:

• If the value of the public assistance or identification wrongfully received, retained, misappropriated, sought, or used is of an aggregate value of $100,000 or more in any 12 consecutive months, such person commits a felony of the first degree;
• If the value of the public assistance or identification wrongfully received, retained, misappropriated, sought, or used is of an aggregate value of $20,000 or more, but less than $100,000 in any 12 consecutive months, such person commits a felony of the second degree;
• If the value of the public assistance or identification wrongfully received, retained, misappropriated, sought, or used is of an aggregate value of $200 or more, but less than $20,000 in any 12 consecutive months, such person commits a felony of the third degree;
• If the value of the public assistance or identification wrongfully received, retained, misappropriated, sought, or used is less than an aggregate value of $200 in any 12 consecutive months, such person commits a misdemeanor of the first degree.

Under Florida Statute Section 414.39(5)(f), the term “fraud” includes:

• the introduction of fraudulent records into a computer system;
• the unauthorized use of computer facilities; or
• the intentional or deliberate alteration or destruction of computerized information or files, and the stealing of financial instruments, data, and other assets.

Failure to Notify DCF of Payment from a Recipient

Under Florida Statute Section 414.39(6), a person providing service for which compensation is paid under any state or federally funded public assistance program can be charged with a first degree misdemeanor if they:

• solicit, request, or receive, either actually or constructively any payment or contribution through a payment, assessment, gift, devise, bequest or other means;
• whether directly or indirectly;
• from a recipient of public assistance from such public assistance program, or from the family of such a recipient;
• to fail to notify the Department of Children and Families on a form provided by the department;
• of the amount of payments or contributions or provide such other information as specified by the department, within:
  • 10 days after the receipt of such payment or contribution; or
  • if said payment or contribution is to become effective at some time in the future, within 10 days of the consummation of the agreement to make such payment or contribution.

Evdence often includes a paid state warrant, or the transaction history generated by a Personal Identification Number (PIN) establishing a purchase or withdrawal by electronic benefit transfer.

Rewards for Furnishing and Reporting Public Assistance Fraud

Under Florida Statute Section 414.39(11)(a), subject to availability of funds, the department or the director of the Office of Public Benefits Integrity shall, unless the person declines the reward, pay a reward to a person who furnishes and reports original information relating to a violation of the state’s public assistance fraud laws if the information and report:

1. Are made to the department, the Department of Financial Services, or the Department of Law Enforcement.
2. Relate to criminal fraud upon public assistance program funds or a criminal violation of public assistance fraud laws by another person.
3. Lead to the recovery of a fine, penalty, or forfeiture of property.
   1. The reward may not exceed 10 percent of the amount recovered or $500,000, whichever is less, in a single case.
   2. The reward shall be paid from the state share of the recovery in the Federal Grants Trust Fund from moneys collected pursuant to s. 414.41.
   3. A person who receives a reward pursuant to this subsection is not eligible to receive funds pursuant to the Florida False Claims Act for Medicaid fraud for which the reward was received.

Additional Resources

Florida’s Division of Public Assistance Fraud (DPAF) – Visit the website of the Florida Department of Financial Services to learn more about the Division of Public Assistance Fraud (DPAF) which investigates public assistance fraud and helps enforce Florida’s laws regarding program eligibility and proper use of public assistance benefits. Since 1991, the Division of Public Assistance Fraud has served as Florida’s State Law Enforcement Bureau. SLEB combats the illegal trafficking of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) benefits.

This article was last updated on Friday, May 18, 2026.