Florida Increases Penalties for Defrauding the Elderly, Disabled, & Kids

Photo for illustrative purposes only. Photo by Vika_Glitter on Pixabay

Especially after the hurricanes, fraud has been a prevalent issue in Florida. With any luck, House Bill 1171 will help counteract the issue for some of the most vulnerable demographics in the population: the elderly, the children, and the disabled.

As of October 1, House Bill 1171 amends Florida’s statute 817.034 to “reclassify the penalty for committing specified offenses of schemes to defraud…against a person 65 years of age or older, against a minor, or against a person with a mental or physical disability”. 

The law also redefines the phrase “scheme to defraud” to include the “endorsements of nonconsenting parties” and states that a person can “file a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction to recover damages caused by the use of his or her image or likeness” if it “is used without his or her consent in a scheme to defraud”.

The civil remedies, or the means that damages can be made right, as described in the text of this law are in addition to those already existing under common law and other laws. House Bill 1171 is not intended to limit damage recuperations or the penalties of any current laws. 

In fact, for all acts of defrauding that fall under this law, penalties have been increased by one degree, so what previously would have been classified as a first degree misdemeanor is now a third degree felony and so on. This is true all the way through first degree felony charges. Now, what used to be first degree felony defrauding would be a life felony under this law.

House Bill 1171 was originally prepared by the Criminal Justice Committee, filed on January 3, 2024; and voted through in the Senate and House with votes of 39-0 and 104-8, respectively. It was presented to Governor DeSantis on April 16, 2024, and he approved it on April 26, 2024.

For complete details on this new law, click here to read all four pages of House Bill 1171. For the official summary, click here. 

Article by Ema Tibbetts