Scheme to Defraud in Florida: Charges, Penalties, and Restitution

A scheme to defraud in Florida carries penalties that range from a first-degree misdemeanor up to a life felony, depending on how much was taken and who the victim was. The offense is prosecuted under Florida’s Communications Fraud Act, Section 817.034, and it usually generates two separate charges from the same conduct: organized fraud for running the scheme and communications fraud for each phone call, email, letter, or text used to further it. Both can be sentenced separately, both trigger mandatory restitution, and the same acts can bring federal charges and a civil lawsuit for triple damages.

What Makes Conduct a Scheme Rather Than Simple Theft

Under Florida Statute 817.034, a scheme to defraud is a systematic, ongoing course of conduct carried out with the intent to obtain property through false promises, misrepresentations, or fraudulent pretenses.¹ The word doing the work is “systematic.” A single lie leading to a one-time theft is generally charged under Florida’s general theft statutes. A scheme involves a continuing series of fraudulent acts aimed at extracting value from one or more victims over time.

“Property” is defined broadly. It reaches real estate, tangible items, intangible rights and privileges, and services, so a scheme that tricks people into paying for services never rendered falls within the statute just as squarely as one that takes cash.

Organized Fraud and Communications Fraud Are Two Different Charges

A single fraud scheme can produce both charges, and a defendant can be convicted and sentenced on each.²

Organized fraud punishes engaging in the scheme itself and obtaining property through it. The grade turns on the total value of everything taken across the entire scheme, and it is always at least a third-degree felony no matter how small the amount.

Communications fraud punishes each individual communication made in furtherance of the scheme. Every phone call, email, letter, or text aimed at obtaining property counts as a separate offense. Fifteen fraudulent emails to different victims can be charged as 15 separate counts of communications fraud on top of the organized fraud charge. Communications fraud has its own value-based grading and includes a misdemeanor tier that organized fraud does not.

The practical effect matters at sentencing. Someone who runs a $60,000 investment scam and contacts 20 victims faces a first-degree felony for organized fraud plus 20 communications fraud counts, each with its own potential sentence.

How Values Get Added Together

Florida uses “aggregation.” The total value of all property obtained from all victims over the entire duration of the scheme is added together.¹ One hundred small thefts of $600 each become a single organized fraud charge based on $60,000 in aggregate value, which puts the case in first-degree felony territory.

Value is generally measured by market value at the time of the offense. When market value is hard to fix, the court can use replacement cost or, for financial instruments, the amount due or collectible.

Penalties for Organized Fraud

Organized fraud is graded by aggregate value:

There is no misdemeanor version of organized fraud. Even under $300 in total value, the charge remains a third-degree felony.

Penalties for Communications Fraud

Each communication is graded on its own, based on the value of property sought through that specific communication:¹

$50,000 or more: first-degree felony, up to 30 years.
$20,000 to $49,999: second-degree felony, up to 15 years.
$300 to $19,999: third-degree felony, up to 5 years.
Less than $300: first-degree misdemeanor, up to 1 year in county jail and a $1,000 fine.

Because each communication is its own count, sentences can stack. The court has authority to impose separate judgments and sentences for organized fraud and for every communications fraud conviction that comes out of the same scheme.²

Enhancements When the Victim Is Elderly, a Minor, or Disabled

If the victim is 65 or older, a minor, or a person with a mental or physical disability, every charge is bumped up one full degree:⁴

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 becomes a life felony.

The reclassification is automatic. A $50,000 scheme targeting a retiree jumps from a first-degree felony carrying 30 years to a life felony.

Habitual Offender Exposure

If you have two or more prior felony convictions and the current offense was committed within five years of your last conviction or release from supervision, the court can sentence you as a habitual felony offender.⁵ Under that designation, a third-degree felony carries up to 10 years, a second-degree felony up to 30 years, and a first-degree felony up to life.

Restitution Is Mandatory

The court is required to order the defendant to repay victims for all damage or loss caused directly or indirectly by the offense, unless it finds “clear and compelling reasons” not to.⁶ That exception is rarely used. Restitution is separate from any fines, survives imprisonment, and is typically imposed as a condition of probation, so a missed payment can trigger a violation and further jail time. Payment can be a lump sum or installments, but the debt runs until the victim is fully repaid.

How Long Prosecutors Have to File Charges

The criminal statute of limitations for scheme to defraud cases works by charge grade:⁷

First-degree felony: 4 years from the date the offense was committed.
Second- or third-degree felony: 3 years.
First-degree misdemeanor: 2 years.

For ongoing schemes, the clock generally starts when the last fraudulent act occurs. Conduct that began in 2022 but continued into 2025 has a limitations period that runs from 2025.

Federal Charges for the Same Conduct

Fraud that uses the U.S. mail can be charged as federal mail fraud under 18 U.S.C. 1341, punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison.⁸ Fraud using electronic communications, phone calls, or wire transfers can bring wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. 1343, also carrying up to 20 years.⁹ When the fraud affects a financial institution, the federal maximum rises to 30 years and a $1,000,000 fine. Federal charges have their own five-year statute of limitations.¹⁰ State and federal prosecutors can charge the same conduct without violating double jeopardy, because state and federal governments are treated as separate sovereigns. Acquittal in state court does not foreclose federal prosecution for the same scheme.

Civil Treble Damages on Top of the Criminal Case

Victims of fraud that qualifies as theft under Florida law can sue for three times their actual damages, plus attorney’s fees and court costs.¹¹ Before filing, the victim must send a written demand giving 30 days to pay; a defendant who pays within that window gets a release from further civil liability for that specific act. A $100,000 fraud scheme can produce a $300,000 civil judgment on top of criminal restitution, fines, and prison time. The statute also sets a minimum recovery of $200 when actual damages are minimal.

1
Justia Law. Florida Statutes 817.034 – Florida Communications Fraud Act
2
Florida Senate. Florida Code 817.034 – Florida Communications Fraud Act
3
Florida Senate. Florida Code 775.082 – Penalties; Applicability of Sentencing Structures; Mandatory Minimum Sentences for Certain Reoffenders Previously Released from Prison
4
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 817.034 – Florida Communications Fraud Act
5
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 775.084 – Violent Career Criminals; Habitual Felony Offenders and Habitual Violent Felony Offenders
6
Justia Law. Florida Statutes 775.089 – Restitution
7
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 775.15 – Time Limitations; General
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1341 – Frauds and Swindles
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1343 – Fraud by Wire, Radio, or Television
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3282 – Offenses Not Capital
11
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 772.11 – Civil Remedy for Theft or Exploitation