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The accused, R.T. (not his real initials). was arrested on July 7. 2010. in Martin County, Florida, on charges of burglary, first degree grand theft and criminal mischief over $1,000. A detective concluded that R. T. committed these offenses when he entered the restaurant where he was employed “after hours”. The detective supposed that R.T....Read More

Kenneth Sanderson (not his real name) had recently turned 18. He looked around and found a used pickup truck which was for sale by a man in Fort Meyers, Florida. Sanderson learned about the pickup through a friend, R.J. Keane (not his real name). Keane had recently installed a sound system in the truck for...Read More

Help from a Grand Theft Defense Attorney This case illustrates the attempted use of criminal punishment to gain advantage in business disputes. Depending upon your point of view, the practice of using criminal arrests in the context of a civil dispute is odious and detestable, a legal form of extortion. “Victims” like the idea of...Read More

Charges Cleared by Polk County Grand Theft Lawyer Alexa Gutierez (not her real name) was charged with stealing a paycheck from a mailbox, duplicating the check with fake information and electronically depositing the check into her account. The Polk County Prosecutor thought she had a pretty solid case. After all, who else would deposit money...Read More

Not What It Seems: All Charges Dropped Donald Wing and his wife Alana (not their real names) were charged in Martin County with Second Degree Arson and Burning to Defraud Insurer.  The investigator for the Florida Division of Financial Services (DFS) claimed that Donald and Alana burned their 2017 Infiniti QX70 on 3/24/19. The DFS...Read More

Preston Rock (not his real name) was charged in Okeechobee County with three felony charges: conspiracy to introduce contraband, unlawful compensation for a public servant, and bribery. Rock was arrested on warrants in February, 2015. All charges were dropped on 2/21/17. What happened? On 4/12/14, Florida Department of Corrections (DOC) investigators converged on the Okeechobee...Read More

Solomon Jean Pierre (not his real name) had a hard time getting to the United States from his native country of Haiti. Once here, Pierre was granted status. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued him an employment authorization card which allowed Pierre to obtain work and a Florida Driver License. Pierre took advantage of...Read More

Hector Long (not his real name) was arrested on 3/6/15 by Fort Pierce Police. What makes this arrest unusual is that Long is the owner of a “motel”. He was arrested for trespass when he entered the room of a tenant. Initially, Long thought that he could “do-it-yourself”. He was thinking that the criminal courts...Read More

Help from a Fort Pierce Fraud Theft Lawyer The last remaining mortgage fraud charge against Carl Crankshaft (not his real name) was dropped by the State on 10/21/14. This brought to a successful conclusion the ill-begotten prosecution. The underlying facts in this case were not in any serious dispute. Ultimately, the State was forced to...Read More

A manager of a nationwide sporting goods chain was charged with grand theft via embezzlement. The manager retained Fort Pierce Attorney Jeffrey Garland within days of his arrest. Based upon many factors, including a lack of price record and immediate repayment of 100% of the misappropriated funds, the manager was allowed to plead to a...Read More

Kent Ford (not his real name) had never been arrested.  Never been in trouble.  Nada.  Kent retired from up north to Port St. Lucie with his bride of many years.  Life was good.  Back during the great land boom, they bought an investment property in a gated community in St. Lucie West.  The hope for...Read More

Defendant was charged with embezzling money from county-owned utility. Even though former supervisor had been criminally charged for similar activities, law enforcement thought defendant was also involved. Careful analysis of the “in out” records with the questioned transactions, as well as defendant’s sick and vacation time, was productive. The defense was able to show that...Read More

K.L.B. was charged with second degree grand theft. The Information alleged that she defrauded Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute of more than $20,000.00. She promptly retained Jeffrey H. Garland for her defense. The jury trial began on April 4, 2005, before St. Lucie County Circuit Judge Ben L. Bryan. Hospital administrators, testifying for...Read More

RA was arrested on July 12, 2008, for charges of organized fraud less than $20,000.00, third degree grand theft more than $300.00, but less than $20,000.00, and fraudulent use of a credit card. Twelve days later, he retained Jeffrey H. Garland to represent him on these charges. RA was in the business of building replicas...Read More

Almost five years after M.W. and his roofing companies had completed their roofing work following the destructive 2004 hurricane season, he learned that a pair of warrants were pending against him out of Indian River County, Florida. M.W. was residing in a state in the mid-west, about to finalize a substantial business transaction, when a...Read More

J.S.C. was arrested on August 7, 2009, in St. Lucie County for uttering a forged check (three counts), forgery (three counts), criminal use of personal identification (three counts), organized scheme to defraud, and grand theft. On September 14, 2009, the State filed an Information formally charging this Defendant with communication fraud – less than $300.00...Read More

MA was just 18 years old and working at a bowling alley. He was accused of pocketing cash paid for games and shoes. Initially, MA put his head in the sand and ignored the situation. Almost two years later, he was arrested. He could ignore it no longer. Attorney Garland assessed the situation and recommended...Read More

J.E. was arrested on November 18, 2005, for organized fraud and two counts of third degree grand theft. These charges arose in Indian River County, Florida. He subsequently retained Jeffrey H. Garland as his attorney . A preliminary evaluation of the case concluded that the charges arose from a relationship between the defendant and the...Read More

A series of complex and inscrutable laws govern the purchase of gold and jewelry. These reporting requirements are intended to reduce the incentive to traffic in stolen property and to assist victims and law enforcement in identifying and recovering such stolen property. It would be rare, indeed, for someone offering to sell gold or jewelry...Read More

S.S. (not her real initials) was initially represented by the Public Defenders office in connection with charges of third degree grand theft and uttering a forged instrument. The State alleged that S.S. had deposited a counterfeit check on April 30, 2007, into a Seacoast National Bank in Port St. Lucie, Florida, in an amount of...Read More

F.M. (not her real initials) went shopping at the Express store in the Vero Beach Mall on July 8, 2010. She would not, unfortunately, be able to forget this day, and the matter would not be resolved until 364 days later, just 5 days before a jury was to be picked. The day started out...Read More

U.S. Army Reserve Sgt. Renea Thomas was arrested on December 17, 2009, while working as a corrections officer for her civilian employer, the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office. SLCO Sheriff Ken Mascara, at a news conference, accused Sgt. Thomas of stealing money, official misconduct and forgery and uttering a forged instrument. Twenty-one months later, the...Read More

G.J.B. was arrested on July 9, 2005, for the offense of organized fraud under $20,000.00. The charge arose out of his association with a construction company. The company had been formed several months after Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne in order to take advantage of the need for home repairs.Read More

On June 12, 2007, agents from the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office (SLCSO) and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) executed a search warrant on a convenience store located in a predominantly immigrant/Hispanic part of Fort Pierce. The search focused on financial records involving the “transmitting” of funds and “check cashing”. Boxes of records...Read More