Latoria Pickett, 28, of Orlando was arrested on felony charges of conspiracy to commit organized fraud and fraudulently using personal-identification information and was being held in the Orange County Jail on $50,000 bond.
Pickett, who worked as a customer service repreentative for a company (Affiliated Copmuter Services) that processes payments for E-PASS was arrested on February 3, 2010, after allegations that she photocopied customer checks and sold them to people who stole money from their accounts. According to a spokeswoman for the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority, about three dozen customers were victimized. Pickett was fired shortly after the allegations came to light.
The investigation began in September 2008 when the Orange County Sheriffs Office conducted a traffic stop and found copies of Expressway Authority customer checks on a woman named Tonya Wells, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said. Wells and several others were arrested that year on charges of cashing counterfeit checks throughout Florida. Investigators found dozens of checks, drivers licenses and bank-account numbers for people who were not E-PASS customers, they said.
The Expressway Authority and ACS hired auditors and changed procedures to make sure a similar scheme could not happen again. Hodges would not be more specific.
If you have been arrested or charged with Fraud or Theft in Orlando and are facing criminal prosecution in either Orange County, Seminole County, Florida, contact the attorneys at Tilden Law for an initial and confidential consultation, 407-599-1234.
Orlando Police departments are warning people to be on the lookout for a scam group that has recently arrived in the city. Law enforcement officials say that gangs are moving into the area and are preying on people using a 3-card Monte game. Among the areas hit by these indivicuals are Daytona during Bike Week and the Daytona 500 along with Orange County tourist areas.
In 3-card Monte, a dealer shows the audience a card, shifts that card with two others and asks someone in the audience to guess which card was shown. One person in the audience is in on the game and works with the dealer to convince others to bet large amounts – and lose them.
The scam group’s members also have been known to rob participants as they play the game. The men, who all are related by blood, marriage or long-term association, often travel in minivans registered from Ohio and Kentucky. One Marion County man already has reportedly already has been robbed of a $2,600 and a valuable ring while playing the game at a gas station, according to the Marion sheriff’s office.
If you have been arrested or charged with a Fraud or Theft in Orlando and are facing criminal prosecution in either Orange County, Seminole County, Florida, contact the attorneys at Tilden Law for an initial and confidential consultation, 407-599-1234.
A recent TILDEN LAW client was charged with Shoplifting and Petit Theft at an Orlando, Florida area Wal-Mart store, under Fla. Statute 812.014. Our client and her husband were checking out at a self check isle and were stopped by Wal-Mart loss prevention officers as they were leaving the store. Wal-Mart accused our clients of scanning only part of the items in their cart and attempting to leave the store without paying for the balance of their merchandise.
Attorney N. Fleetwood Tilden filed several pre-trial motions to inspect evidence including the in-store video surveillance camera footage. Mr. Tilden also interviewed Wal-Mart store employees and security staff. Based on the information and evidence Mr. Tilden was able to acquire, he was successful in convincing the State Attorney’s Office to dismiss the criminal case against our client.
If you have been charged with a theft or shoplifting crime in the Orange County, Seminole County or Orlando, Florida, please contact the experienced criminal defense attorneys at TILDEN LAW today for a free initial consultation, 407-599-1234.
A Debary, Florida man has been accused of running a prescription drug ring employing as many as 30 people. According to the Volusia County Sheriff’s office, John Davey was arrested and held in jail on a $1 Million bond. Investigators believe Davey forged pprescriptions for Xenix, an anti-anxiety and pain killer drug. People in Davey’s employ would then take the forged prescription to a local pharmacy to get the prescription filled and then pay the employees in either cash or drugs.
According to Deputies, Davey had prescriptions for more than 14,000 pills with an estimated street value of $200,000. Davey was arrested after investigators with the Sheriff’s office followed him and two of his employees to a pharmacy where they allegedly obtained a filled pprescription for oxycodone.
If you have been arrested or charged with a Drug offense in Orlando and are facing criminal drug prosecution in either Orange County or Seminole County, Florida, contact the attorneys at TILDEN LAW for an initial and confidential consultation, 407-599-1234.
While shopping with her infant child recently at an Orlando area department store, a young mother was stopped and accused of shoplifting items by the store’s loss prevention officer. Specifically, store employees identified our client as placing store merchandise into her baby stroller and not paying for the items. Police were called and responded to the scene and a sworn affidavit was filed with the Orange County State Attorney’s office claiming criminal theft.
Attorney N. Fleetwood Tilden of Tilden Law handled the case to a successful conclusion. Upon reviewing the allegations and supporting documents provided by our client, Mr. Tilden contacted the Orange County State Attorney’s office and provided detailed information and defenses to the charges.
Within weeks of being hired, Mr. Tilden was able to inform our client of our success in petitioning the State Attorney to dismiss all criminal charges.
If you have been charged with the crime of theft or shoplifting in the Orange County, Seminole County or the Orlando, Florida area, please contact the experienced theft defense attorneys at Tilden Law for an initial and confidential consultation, 407-599-1234.
A burglar who made off with a Pensacola man’s valuables returned to the home later to take what he couldn’t carry on his first trip: a 100 pound plasma screen TV. A police was on the scene investigating the first burglary when the thief made off with the TV. The man who lived at the house said that the suspect had already stolen his wallet, watch and video game system. Investigators had left the TV in the backyard, where the burglar put it to dust for fingerprints. Police have offered to pay for the TV.
If you have been accused of theft in Seminole County or Orange County, Florida, contact the experienced criminal defense attorney’s at Tilden Law for you free initial consultation. 407-599-1234.
The former president of the Central Florida Eagle Youth Sports organization was sentenced to 2 ½ years prison for her part in a embezzlement and theft scheme. Marsha Helmadollar allegedly had access and control over the bank account of the youth organization and deposited over $58,000 of the organization’s money into her personal account from January 2006 through August 2007. In addition, Helmadollar is also accused of defrauding The Title Team, a title insurance company where she worked.
If you have been accused of a theft related crime and are seeking legal representation to help guide you through the criminal justice system, contact the criminal defense firm Tilden Law for a free initial case evaluation, 407-599-1234.
Over the past ten years, six men have been running a shoplifting scheme in central Florida which has been estimated to have cost Publix millions of dollars. The men, all from central Florida, are mostly in their fifties and used their ages to gain sympathy from the stores allowing them to used motorized carts which facilitated their crimes. They worked with a 22 year old who is the son of one of the suspects. The youngest of this crime ring, he would help to sell the stolen items on Ebay and through local flea markets.
One of the men, Gary Powell, would load his pockets with all types of beauty products. In some instances, the 56 year old man shoplifted as many as 75 packs of Gillette Fusion razor blades each worth about $22.00. Powell hid the stolen items in his clothing or in Publix shopping bags.
It is estimated that the ring of members stealing razors, vitamins and hygiene items were racking up about $60,000 a week in stolen goods. The money however, was used to purchase drugs to support the men’s habits. The case is being handled by the Florida Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.
If you have been arrested for theft in Orange County or Seminole County, Florida, call the experienced attorney’s at Tilden law for your free initial consultation.