Florida Gov. Rick Scott has signed legislation extending to military veterans and their family members special protections against fraud which state law already grants to senior citizens and disabled persons.
Because of Floridas strong veteran presence, theres more opportunity for individuals to target these populations with predatory schemes that hurt our veterans quality of life. Make no mistake: there are predators out there who will go after our veterans, Scott said Monday in a statement published shortly after a bill-signing ceremony at MacDill Air Force Base. This new layer of protection will send a strong message to the rest of the nation that in Florida, well do whatever it takes to protect our veterans and their families.
HB 1223 (Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices) imposes strict civil penalties up to $15,000 for each offense on any profiteer who targets military veterans or their family members for various types of deceptive and unfair treatment. The bill had been singled out as a priority by Attorney General Pam Bondi.
We wanted to ensure that law enforcement and prosecuting agencies had an extra tool in their toolbox to go after some of these folks who are willing to target our military men and women in the name of profit, and to do so disingenuously and inappropriately, Rep. J.W. Grant, R-Tampa, an attorney and one of the bill's principal sponsors in the House, tells Sunshine State News. We're sending a message to [servicemen] that when they're off making sure that this is the freest and most prosperous country in the world, that we're going to protect them and their families from these kinds of scams.
Grant tells SSN the kinds of scams the bill is intended to protect against include predatory home and auto loans, funeral homes selling goods and services at exorbitant prices, and purposefully targeting servicemen and their families to purchase services already provided by the U.S. military.
Our military members sacrifice so much for our country, and we need to do everything we can to protect them and their families from unscrupulous individuals who target them with scams, Bondi said in a statement.
Reach Eric Giunta at egiunta@sunshinestatenews.com or at 954-235-9116.
