ORLANDO, Fla. – Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis was joined by Florida Veterans' Affairs Director Danny Burgess in Orlando today to highlight the Florida Veterans Protection Act, which aims to protect veterans from fraud and scams by adding the victimization of ten or more veterans as an aggravated white-collar crime to the Florida White-Collar Crime Act.   CFO Jimmy Patronis said, "Florida is home to more than 1.5 million veterans but unfortunately, these heroes are twice as likely to fall victim to scams than you or I. Fraud in Florida has reached epidemic proportions and the penalties for targeting veterans with scams must be stronger. I'm proud to work with FDVA Director Burgess, Senator Wright and Representative Payne on this critical legislation to protect these heroes who bravely served to protect us. We must ensure Florida is the most veteran-friendly state in the nation and this legislation does just that.”   CFO Jimmy Patronis was also joined by Representative Sam Killibrew, Representative Anthony Sabatini, Representative David Smith’s office, Director of UCF Veterans Academic Resource Center Paul Viau, and Seminole County Supervisor of Elections Chris Anderson.

About CFO Jimmy Patronis  Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis is a statewide elected official and a member of Florida’s Cabinet who oversees the Department of Financial Services. CFO Patronis works each day to fight insurance fraud, support Florida’s firefighters, and ensure the state’s finances are stable to support economic growth in the state. Follow the activities of the Department on Facebook (FLDFS) and Twitter (@FLDFS).