As Attorney General...

I am the people’s lawyer. I do not advance the needs of special interests – but of everyday Floridians. I am their advocate and their champion. It is my job to have their backs, and no one else’s. Further, because an Attorney General can implicate the liberty and property interests of the people, he has a higher standard to which he must abide. To paraphrase Justice Sutherland in Berger v U.S., the Attorney General is the representative not of an ordinary party to a controversy but of a sovereignty whose obligation to strike hard blows is as great as its duty to strike fair ones. If I am honored with your trust to serve as Florida’s 37th Attorney General, I will have your back every day. Here is what I will do:

• Protect Your Pocketbook
• Protect Florida's Children
• Protect Florida's Natural Treasures
• Fight Health Care Fraud and Abuse
• Fight Government Corruption
• Defend Civil Rights
• Encourage Coordination of Law Enforcement

Protect Your Pocketbook

Florida is ground zero for fraud. Whether it’s a traditional ponzi scheme, mortgage fraud, or identity theft– for too long Florida has attracted too many con artists and scammers. Our abundance of seniors and transient populations makes Florida an attractive target for those seeking to make a quick buck dishonestly. But everyday Floridians are feeling its impact. It is causing havoc in our housing market and, worse, leaving too many of our citizens victimized. For our seniors on fixed incomes, it represents the greatest of indignities. Florida needs an Attorney General who can stay one step ahead of these crooks.

As a former federal prosecutor who convicted economic criminals, I know about cracking down on fraud. As your Attorney General, I’ll put my prosecutorial experience to use to safeguard your pocket book and your tax dollars from those trying to game the system. To find out more about my plan to fight fraud, keep reading below.

Create an Investment Fraud Unit to Protect ‘Seniors and Savers’

It seems every ponzi scheme and investment fraud has its roots in or a strong connection to Florida. Yet too often they are prosecuted in another state, or the authorities detect them after too much damage has been done and victims are left without real recourse. Recently the AG’s office was given expanded authority to go after these financial crooks who lure unsuspecting investors – often senior citizens – into their web of lies. I will create an Investment Fraud Unit whose purpose is to investigate and prosecute these criminals. The IFU will work with state and federal prosecutors, as well as the regional SEC office whose purpose is to regulate this type of misconduct. This will be one of my highest priorities as your next Attorney General.

Bring Greater Integrity to the Mortgage Process

According to the FBI, Florida has one of the highest rates of mortgage fraud in the country. As Florida’s real estate market rebounds, we need to make sure that the marketplace is free of bad guys seeking to exploit Florida’s homebuyers. First, we need to educate potential homebuyers on the ways to prevent fraud before it happens by assuring that consumers understand all of the obligations a mortgage entails and are aware of their options if they’re unable to make their payments. Second, we need to let the individuals that have exploited the loan origination or title processes know that someone is watching. And finally, the Attorney General needs to make sure law enforcement is ahead of the bad guys – so that newer scams that crop up in reverse mortgages or loan consolidation are swiftly prosecuted. Florida’s real estate industry is too important to let scam artists take it over.

Protect the Right to Loan Modification

Banks involved in the federal bailout were obliged to provide loan modifications to borrowers. Too many are routinely failing to fulfill this obligation. An Attorney General from another state described it as a game of chutes and ladders, except its all chutes. You cannot make it to the finish line. Consumers are being made to wait months, to call and and re-send their applications over and over and over, all while being kept on the verge of foreclosure. They are begging for help just so they can keep paying a mortgage that is deeply underwater. I will work to make sure that these banks keep their promises and provide loan modifications that keep people in their homes, off the streets, and away from the brink of financial ruin. This is important not just for those homeowners, but for their neighbors and their communities, which face ruin from the wave of foreclosures.

Protect Floridians’ Identities from Theft

The Internet is revolutionary but unfortunately, too many criminals exploit this technology to steal people’s identities, ruining lives and costing millions in the process. In the 1990’s I directed investigations and testified before the U.S. Senate on this emerging threat. As Attorney General, I will go after those who use the Internet for criminal purposes by using state-of-the-art technology to beat the criminals at their own game. I’ll work to provide consumers and small businesses with the most up to date tactics for protecting personal information and preventing identity theft. I will work with the Legislature to pass laws that increase civil penalties for companies that irresponsibly fail to protect their customers’ sensitive personal information.

Go After Telemarketing Scams

Nearly one in four Floridians is in the demographic that is most susceptible to telemarketing scams – senior citizens. As Attorney General, I will protect our seniors and stop telemarketer abuse. My office will prosecute and seek recourse for seniors that have been scammed by telemarketing firms to provide their credit card information in order to claim a “prize” or are led on to give out their social security number to verify their Medicaid standing. Companies that prey on the vulnerable will find their names in the headlines as my office fights to put an end to their predatory practices.

Take on Wall Street

Other Attorneys General have not been afraid to take on the Wall Street wrongdoers who enabled rampant mortgage fraud by selling mortgages to consumers who could not afford them just so they could package them into securities that became ticking time bombs. Wall Street was complicit at the front and back end and is directly responsible for the worst mortgages. Florida is bearing the worst of it; as Attorney General I will pursue all legal options to recoup these losses for Floridians.

Protect Our State’s Pension Fund

There are real questions as to whether our state’s pension fund has been politicized. In other states, like New York, the Attorney General forced the pension fund to adopt a code of conduct that prevented improper influence of investment decision making. I will use my role on the State Board of Administration, and my power as Attorney General, to guarantee that Floridians pensions are not misused or improperly invested.

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Protect Florida’s Children

The Internet, with all its efficiencies and advancements, has unleashed and given a platform to an entire cohort of dangerous predators. As a father of three young children, I know firsthand how worrisome these threats can be. More of our kids have access to technology at younger ages. As Attorney General, keeping all of Florida’s children safe will be a daily priority.

Use Smart Tactics to Keep Kids Safe

The Attorney General’s Cyber Crime office aggressively tracks down internet predators, but their efforts should be strengthened through stronger regional efforts, such as task forces that work to target predators through non-traditional tactics and by educating teachers on ways they can create a safe environment for students to report predators. I will continue some of the strategies employed by my predecessors, and as Attorney General, I will use all resources at my disposal – federal, state, and local – to ensure that Florida’s most vulnerable are protected.

Keep Offenders and Predators Off Social Networks

Currently, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement collects the e-mail addresses and instant messenger screen names of registered sex offenders and predators to share that information with social networking sites like Facebook. But the law doesn’t go far enough. It relies on companies voluntarily removing sex offenders from their sites, and some companies, including those whose sites are used primarily by children, have decided it’s not worth their time to kick these people off. As Attorney General, I’ll follow the lead of New York’s Attorney General and go after the social networking sites that cater to young people and compel them to remove registered sex offenders. I’ll also push for a new law making it a crime for a convicted sexual predator to use a social networking site.

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Protect Florida’s Natural Treasures

The BP oil spill has made clear how tenuous Florida’s environmental beauty can be, and how we must be vigilant in protecting its natural gifts. I have prosecuted environmental criminals and, as a legislator, worked to ensure that our state does not squander these treasures through over-development. I will vigorously work with those in law enforcement whose mission it is to protect our state’s coastlines, the Everglades, and our indigenous species. And I will employ every statute at my disposal to make sure that Florida is a party to all possible claims arising from the BP spill.

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Fight Health Care Fraud and Abuse

As a federal prosecutor I saw how ingenious health care criminals can be. Throughout our state, bad guys are making hundreds of millions of dollars illicitly and we pay the price with increasing insurance rates. Because so much of our state budget is spent on health care, it’s especially important to lock up these wrongdoers.

Fight Medicaid Fraud

Florida’s Medicaid system provides health care to almost 2.7 million Florida residents, including almost 395,000 seniors. Unfortunately, dishonest providers and scam artists defraud the system of millions of dollars each year. For every dollar that goes to a scam, that’s one dollar that doesn’t go to keeping Floridians healthy. The millions of dollars in Medicaid fraud every year result in fewer dollars available to treat Medicaid recipients. As Attorney General, I will work to makes sure that the Medicaid Fraud Unit has the resources it needs to protect taxpayer dollars, prosecute scam artists, and ensure that Florida’s vulnerable senior population receives the health care it deserves. And I will work with our partners in the federal government – including the US Attorneys’ offices and the inspectors with the US Department of Health and Human Services to optimize our joint efforts.

Shut Down "Pill Mills"

We must be aggressive in shutting down the so-called “Pill Mills” that continue to open in South Florida. I have worked on legislation that bans convicted felons from being licensed to own a pain management clinic, and that would regulate the excesses of this industry. But the only real answer will be aggressive enforcement and regulation by investigators willing to take the time to attack this scourge. As Attorney General, I will continue this fight to end the increased threat of prescription drug abuse.

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Fight Government Corruption

It’s no wonder that Floridians are losing faith in their government: more public officials in Florida are charged with corruption than in any other state.. As a corruption prosecutor, I have led the prosecution of many public officials that took bribes and abused the public’s trust. I know how to go after corrupt officials because I spent the better part of a decade doing just that. As Attorney General, I will bring this focus to my office.

Establish Public Corruption Task Forces with State and Federal Prosecutors

Fighting public corruption takes more than good laws, it takes good prosecutors and investigators to build good cases. I will find as many willing partners as I can in the federal and state law enforcement community willing to work together and dedicate resources to this challenge. I know the public trust is being violated – we just need more feet on the ground going after the problem. In my experience the best way to combat crime is to dedicate expert and committed resources to its eradication.

Push the Florida Legislature to Do More

I will use the Attorney General’s office as a bully pulpit to push the legislature to do the right thing and pass laws directed at reforming government. Not just statutes aimed at giving state prosecutors a greater toolkit for attacking criminal violations, but by increasing transparency, and limiting the corrupting influence unconstrained political donations have on government institutions.

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Defend Civil Rights

As the Chief of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights division in South Florida, I know that there are many Floridians who are mistreated simply because of who they are. I have investigated or prosecuted hate crimes, Fair Housing claims and redlining. As Attorney General I will go after those that discriminate because of who a person is. I will also stop others – even the Florida Legislature – from denying Floridians their civil rights, including the right to a properly funded high quality public education system that is guaranteed by Florida’s constitution; and the right of children to be adopted by caring and loving parents who happen to be gay.

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Encourage Coordination of Law Enforcement

Florida is home to state, federal and local law enforcement personnel and prosecutors. Many have overlapping missions and share common jurisdiction. When working for the U.S. Senate, I directed investigations and studies into how we might better protect the public by overcoming turf battles and coordination challenges. An Attorney General ought to be able to use his platform to help these agencies work better together through sharing of information, and working through the conflicts that arise from overlapping missions. I don’t believe an Attorney General should promote himself as the center of the law enforcement world – I think he is supposed to help those charged with primary enforcement and prosecution work better.

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