Fraud in Florida: Penalties, Restitution, and Civil Damages

Fraud penalties in Florida run from a third-degree felony carrying up to 5 years in prison for schemes under $20,000 to a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years for schemes worth $50,000 or more. On top of prison and fines, judges must order restitution to the victim, and the victim can file a separate civil lawsuit to recover money, including punitive damages in egregious cases. Federal charges often stack on top when the fraud crossed state lines or used wires or the mail.

Criminal Penalties by Dollar Amount

The most common criminal fraud charge in Florida is “organized fraud” under the Florida Communications Fraud Act, which covers any systematic, ongoing scheme to cheat people out of money or property. The felony level depends entirely on the total value taken.

A separate provision in the same statute treats each individual fraudulent communication, such as a single deceptive call, email, or letter, as its own offense. If that one communication involves $300 or more, it’s a third-degree felony. Below $300, it’s a first-degree misdemeanor.¹

Forgery of checks, public records, or other financial documents is prosecuted separately under Chapter 831 as a third-degree felony, carrying up to 5 years in prison.³

Enhanced Penalties When the Victim Is Elderly, a Minor, or Disabled

Florida bumps every charge up one level when the victim is 65 or older, a minor, or a person with a mental or physical disability. A first-degree misdemeanor becomes a third-degree felony. A third-degree felony becomes a second-degree felony. A second-degree felony becomes a first-degree felony. A first-degree felony is reclassified as a life felony. Prosecutors pursue these enhancements aggressively in cases targeting elderly victims through phone or internet scams.¹

Identity Theft Carries Mandatory Prison Time

Using someone else’s personal information to gain a financial benefit is prosecuted under a different statute, and the penalties include mandatory minimum sentences a judge cannot waive.

Third-degree felony. Basic fraudulent use of another person’s identifying information, with no minimum dollar threshold. Up to 5 years in prison.⁴
Second-degree felony. Fraud involving $5,000 or more, or use of 10 to 19 people’s information. Mandatory minimum of 3 years in prison.⁴
First-degree felony. Fraud involving $50,000 or more, or use of 20 to 29 people’s information. Mandatory minimum of 5 years. If the amount hits $100,000 or the offender victimizes 30 or more people, the mandatory minimum climbs to 10 years.⁴

These mandatory minimums are what separate identity theft from organized fraud at sentencing. In an organized fraud case the judge has discretion to go shorter. In an identity theft case at the second-degree level or above, the floor is set by statute.

Restitution Is Mandatory

Beyond prison and fines, Florida law requires judges to order restitution for crime victims. The statute uses “shall,” so restitution is mandatory unless the court finds clear and compelling reasons not to order it. It covers damage or loss caused directly or indirectly by the offense, including medical costs, therapy, lost income, and funeral expenses in death cases.⁵

A fraud conviction in Florida therefore typically carries three financial layers: the fine, the restitution order, and the cost of being incarcerated. Restitution matters to victims because it provides a court-ordered path to recover losses without filing a separate civil lawsuit.

When Federal Charges Stack On Top

Many Florida fraud schemes also trigger federal prosecution, especially when the deception crossed state lines or used electronic communications.

Wire fraud, which covers any scheme using phone, email, text, or the internet, carries up to 20 years in federal prison. Mail fraud, which covers schemes using the postal service or commercial carriers, carries the same 20-year maximum. If the fraud targets a financial institution or involves federal disaster or emergency benefits, both offenses jump to a 30-year maximum and a fine of up to $1,000,000.⁶⁷

Federal and state charges are not mutually exclusive. The same fraud scheme can be prosecuted in both systems at once because the Double Jeopardy Clause does not stop separate sovereigns from going after the same conduct. In practice, federal prosecutors tend to take cases involving larger dollar amounts, interstate activity, or government program fraud, while the state handles more localized cases.

What a Victim Can Recover in Civil Court

A fraud victim doesn’t need to wait for a criminal prosecution. A civil fraud lawsuit can be filed directly against the person or business responsible, and it can proceed at the same time as a criminal case based on the same conduct. Civil remedies fall into a few categories.

Compensatory Damages

Compensatory damages cover actual losses: money paid out, lost profits, increased expenses, and other costs that flowed from the fraud. Someone tricked into a $50,000 worthless investment could recover that amount plus related expenses caused by the deception.

Punitive Damages

When the fraud was especially malicious, the court may add punitive damages. Florida generally caps them at three times the compensatory award, though a plaintiff can argue for more by presenting clear and convincing evidence that the cap would be inadequate. Awards above the cap are presumed excessive.

Rescission

If the fraud induced the victim to enter a contract, the court can void the agreement through rescission and attempt to put both sides back where they were before the deal. This is common in real estate and investment fraud.

The FDUTPA Alternative

Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act gives consumers a broader tool that doesn’t require proving the defendant specifically intended to deceive.⁸ A consumer who suffers a loss from a deceptive practice can recover actual damages plus attorney’s fees and court costs, and can ask the court to stop the practice going forward.⁹ The attorney’s fees provision matters because it lets a consumer with modest damages still afford to sue. The catch: FDUTPA does not allow punitive damages. For punishment beyond actual losses, the victim needs a traditional common-law fraud claim alongside or instead of FDUTPA.

Filing Deadlines on Both Sides

Fraud by its nature stays hidden, so both the criminal and civil deadlines work differently from a typical limitations period.

On the civil side, the clock runs from the date the victim discovered the fraud, or should have discovered it with reasonable diligence. But there’s an absolute outer limit: no civil fraud suit can be filed more than 12 years after the fraud was committed, no matter when it was discovered.¹⁰

On the criminal side, if the standard limitations period has expired, the state can still bring charges within one year of discovery, with that extension capped at three additional years beyond the original cutoff. The clock also pauses whenever the defendant is continuously absent from Florida or has no identifiable home or workplace in the state, subject to the same three-year cap on tolling.¹¹

Where to Report Fraud

The right agency depends on the type of fraud. Filing in the wrong place wastes time.

For an active crime where a perpetrator is identifiable, particularly identity theft or financial theft, start with local law enforcement. A police report creates an official record and is typically required before banks and credit card companies will reverse fraudulent charges.

Insurance fraud, workers’ compensation fraud, public assistance fraud, and misuse of state funds go to the Florida Department of Financial Services and its Criminal Investigations Division.¹²

Misconduct by banks, credit unions, money services businesses, and securities firms goes to the Florida Office of Financial Regulation.¹³

Deceptive trade practices, scams, and false advertising go to the Florida Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division, which enforces FDUTPA. The office runs a fraud hotline at 1-866-9NO-SCAM and takes complaints online.¹⁴¹⁵

1
Justia Law. Florida Code 817.034 – Florida Communications Fraud Act
2
Justia Law. Florida Code 775.082 – Penalties; Applicability of Sentencing Structures
3
Florida Senate. Florida Code 831.01 – Forgery
4
FindLaw. Florida Code 817.568 – Criminal Use of Personal Identification Information
5
Justia Law. Florida Code 775.089 – Restitution
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1343 – Fraud by Wire, Radio, or Television
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1341 – Frauds and Swindles
8
Florida Senate. Florida Code 501.204 – Unlawful Acts and Practices
9
Florida Senate. Florida Code 501.211 – Other Individual Remedies
10
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 95.031 – Computation of Time; Claim Accruing Before Statute Takes Effect
11
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 775.15 – Time Limitations; General Time Limitations
12
Florida Department of Financial Services. About the Division of Criminal Investigations
13
Florida Office of Financial Regulation. Submit a Complaint or Tip
14
My Florida Legal. Consumer Protection Division
15
My Florida Legal. Consumer Alerts