Criminal Charges for Fraud in Florida: Why There Is No 'Small' Organized Fraud

When Florida prosecutors charge fraud as its own crime, the charge is usually organized fraud or communications fraud under the Florida Communications Fraud Act, Section 817.034, Florida Statutes — and the single most important thing to understand about organized fraud is that it is a felony at any dollar amount. Theft has a misdemeanor tier for low values; organized fraud does not. A scheme that obtained less than $20,000 is a third-degree felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison. At $20,000 the charge becomes a second-degree felony, and at $50,000 a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years. On top of that, each individual phone call, text, email, or other communication made in furtherance of the scheme can be charged as its own separate count of communications fraud.

That combination — no misdemeanor floor, value tiers that climb fast, and counts that multiply with every communication — is why fraud cases in Florida are often far more serious on paper than the person accused expected. This article explains:

• What the State must actually prove for a fraud charge — the “scheme to defraud”
• The full penalty structure under § 817.034, including how values are aggregated
• How fraud charges differ from theft charges, and why the line matters
• The separate, harsher grading when the alleged victim is elderly or disabled
• When fraud becomes a federal case — mail fraud, wire fraud, and their 20-year maximums

This article provides general legal information and is not a substitute for advice based on the specific facts of a case.

What the State must prove: the “scheme to defraud”

Organized fraud is not simply lying, and it is not a single bad transaction. Under § 817.034(3), a “scheme to defraud” is a “systematic, ongoing course of conduct” carried out with intent to defraud, or with intent to obtain property by “false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises or willful misrepresentations of a future act.”

Each element carries weight for the defense:

• Systematic and ongoing. The statute targets a course of conduct, not an isolated act. Whether a set of transactions amounts to one systematic scheme — or is just a series of ordinary business dealings that went badly — is often the central contested question in these cases.
• Intent to defraud. The State must prove the accused intended to deceive at the time. A deal that failed, a debt that went unpaid, or a promise that could not be kept is not automatically fraud. Broken promises become criminal only when the State can prove the person never intended to perform, or knowingly misrepresented the facts.
• Obtaining property. For organized fraud, the State must show property was actually obtained through the scheme. “Obtain” is defined broadly — temporarily or permanently depriving someone of property, or appropriating it to someone not entitled to it.

Communications fraud, the second offense in the statute, reaches one step earlier: a person who engages in a scheme to defraud and communicates with anyone with intent to obtain property commits communications fraud — for each act of communication — whether or not the scheme ultimately succeeded in that instance.

The penalty structure: value tiers and stacking counts

Organized fraud is graded by the total value obtained through the scheme, with maximum penalties set by § 775.082 and § 775.083. Communications fraud is graded per communication:

Charge	Value	Degree	Maximum penalty
Organized fraud	Less than $20,000	3rd-degree felony	5 years, $5,000 fine
Organized fraud	$20,000 – less than $50,000	2nd-degree felony	15 years, $10,000 fine
Organized fraud	$50,000 or more	1st-degree felony	30 years, $10,000 fine
Communications fraud	$300 or more (per communication)	3rd-degree felony	5 years, $5,000 fine
Communications fraud	Less than $300 (per communication)	1st-degree misdemeanor	1 year, $1,000 fine

Two features of this structure do most of the damage in practice:

• Aggregation. The statute says the values of separate properties obtained in one scheme “shall be aggregated in determining the grade of the offense.” Fifty small transactions of $1,100 each are not fifty third-degree felonies valued at $1,100 — they are one first-degree organized fraud count valued at $55,000. This is the same principle Florida applies to repeated takings in employee theft cases, covered in Criminal Charges for Embezzlement in Florida.
• Count stacking. Because communications fraud attaches to each act of communication, a scheme carried out over months of emails and calls can generate a long list of separate felony counts alongside the organized fraud count. The exposure on paper grows with the paper trail.

Fraud or theft? Why the charging choice matters

Much of the conduct that could be charged as organized fraud could also be charged as grand theft under § 812.014 — Florida’s theft statute expressly covers obtaining property “by false pretenses, fraud, or deception.” The two charging routes overlap, but they are graded differently, and the differences cut in both directions:

	Grand theft (§ 812.014)	Organized fraud (§ 817.034)
Misdemeanor tier	Yes — under $750	No — felony at any amount
3rd-degree felony	$750 – $19,999	Under $20,000
2nd-degree felony	$20,000 – $99,999	$20,000 – $49,999
1st-degree felony	$100,000 or more	$50,000 or more
Core proof	Unauthorized taking or use with intent to deprive	Systematic, ongoing scheme + false pretenses

Notice the crossover points: below $750, a theft charge is a misdemeanor while organized fraud is a felony — and at $50,000, organized fraud is already a first-degree felony while theft does not reach that level until $100,000. The prosecutor’s choice of statute can change the ceiling of the case by decades. On the other side, organized fraud requires the State to prove more: a systematic, ongoing course of conduct and fraudulent intent, not just an unauthorized taking. Cases charged as fraud can sometimes be attacked precisely on that added element.

Which charge appears — or whether both do — is a charging decision made by the State Attorney’s office, and it is one of the issues defense counsel engages earliest. Who actually controls a Florida criminal charge, and the recognized paths that end cases short of trial, are covered in How to Get Criminal Charges Dropped in Florida.

When the alleged victim is elderly or disabled: lower thresholds, same maximums

Florida grades financial crimes against elderly persons and disabled adults more harshly. Under § 825.103, exploitation of an elderly person or disabled adult — which reaches conduct like misusing a position of trust or taking advantage of a person who lacks capacity to consent — becomes a second-degree felony at just $10,000, half the organized fraud threshold, and a first-degree felony at $50,000. Below $10,000 it is a third-degree felony — again with no misdemeanor tier.

In practice, fraud allegations involving older victims are often charged under both statutes’ frameworks, and the exploitation charge carries its own reputational weight in front of a jury. Anyone accused of financial misconduct involving an elderly family member, client, or customer should treat the case as first-degree-felony territory from the outset and get counsel involved before talking to investigators.

When fraud becomes a federal case

The same conduct Florida charges under § 817.034 is routinely charged in federal court when the scheme crossed state lines, used the mail or interstate wires, or touched federally insured institutions or federal funds. The federal fraud statutes are graded by conduct and context rather than dollar tiers:

Federal statute	What it covers	Maximum penalty
Mail fraud — 18 U.S.C. § 1341	Scheme to defraud using the mail or commercial carriers	20 years; 30 years and $1M fine if it affects a financial institution or involves disaster-relief funds
Wire fraud — 18 U.S.C. § 1343	Scheme to defraud using interstate wires — calls, emails, transfers	20 years; 30 years and $1M fine for the same enhancements
Theft or bribery involving federal programs — 18 U.S.C. § 666	$5,000+ taken from an organization or agency receiving $10,000+ in federal funds	10 years

Because nearly every modern transaction involves an electronic transfer, an email, or a phone call, wire fraud gives federal prosecutors a reach that covers most substantial fraud allegations — and federal cases follow different rules on bail, discovery, sentencing guidelines, and parole than Florida state cases do. Those differences are covered in What Are Federal Criminal Charges — and How Are They Different From State Charges in Florida?. Two companion patterns are worth knowing: federal fraud indictments routinely add conspiracy counts when more than one person is alleged to have participated — see Criminal Conspiracy Charges in Florida — and when a scheme used another person’s identifying information, both Florida and federal law add identity theft charges with their own mandatory minimums, covered in Identity Theft Criminal Charges in Florida.

Beyond the sentence — and what actually matters in the defense

A fraud conviction follows a person differently than most charges. It is a crime of dishonesty, which employers, professional licensing boards, and immigration authorities treat as a category of its own. Restitution is ordered in virtually every fraud case that ends in a conviction or plea. And because fraud counts are felonies, a conviction carries the standard collateral consequences of Florida felonies — loss of civil rights among them. What a dismissal, a diversion outcome, or a plea actually leaves on a record — and what can later be sealed or expunged — is covered in If Charges Are Dismissed, Do You Have a Criminal Record?.

On the defense side, fraud cases are won and lost on the elements:

• Intent is the battleground. The State must prove fraudulent intent at the time of the representations. Evidence of good faith — partial performance, disclosures, efforts to repay, reliance on professionals — goes directly at the heart of the charge.
• “Systematic, ongoing” is a real requirement. One failed deal is not a scheme. The defense can force the State to show a genuine course of conduct, not a business dispute recast as a crime.
• Value is contestable. Because the felony degree rides on aggregated value, disputes over what was actually obtained, what was owed legitimately, and what belongs inside the alleged scheme can move a case across degree lines.
• Civil overlap matters. Many fraud allegations begin as business or family disputes with parallel civil lawsuits. The existence of a civil remedy does not erase a criminal charge, but the civil file often shapes the criminal defense.

Fraud investigations also tend to be document cases built quietly before an arrest — which means people frequently learn they are targets before charges are filed. That window matters. Early defense work can influence the charging decision itself, sometimes the difference between a theft charge with a misdemeanor floor, an organized fraud felony, or no filing at all.

The bottom line

Florida’s fraud statutes are built to scale up: values aggregate across an entire scheme, communications multiply into separate felony counts, elderly-victim allegations cut the felony thresholds in half, and the federal system waits behind nearly every wire transfer. The counterweight is that fraud charges demand more proof than most property crimes — a genuinely systematic scheme and genuinely fraudulent intent — and those elements are where these cases are fought. Fraud cases are also document cases, often investigated and charged before the accused ever hears about them, so the earliest moves matter most: if you have been contacted by investigators, served with a subpoena, or charged with organized fraud or grand theft, the time to involve a defense attorney is before you give a statement, not after. MK Law’s partners are trial attorneys who defend fraud and financial-crime cases in both Florida and federal courts — contact us or call 954.865.6032, available 24/7.

Frequently asked questions

Is fraud a felony in Florida?

Organized fraud under § 817.034 is a felony at every dollar amount — third degree below $20,000, second degree from $20,000, and first degree at $50,000 or more. Communications fraud is the exception: an individual communication involving less than $300 is a first-degree misdemeanor. Related charges like grand theft or elder exploitation have their own grading.

How much money makes fraud a first-degree felony?

$50,000 for organized fraud — and the statute aggregates everything obtained in one scheme to reach that number. Fifty transactions of $1,000 each count as $50,000. If the alleged victim is elderly or disabled, § 825.103 reaches a first-degree felony at $50,000 as well, but hits a second-degree felony at just $10,000.

What is the difference between fraud and theft charges?

Theft under § 812.014 requires an unauthorized taking or use of property with intent to deprive the owner. Organized fraud requires more: a systematic, ongoing scheme built on false pretenses or misrepresentations. The grading also differs — theft has a misdemeanor tier below $750, while organized fraud is a felony at any amount. Prosecutors choose which statute fits the evidence, and the choice significantly changes the exposure.

Can fraud charges be dropped?

Only the State Attorney’s office can drop a charge, and only a judge can dismiss one over the State’s objection — but recognized paths exist: the filing-decision window before formal charges, pretrial diversion in eligible cases, motions to dismiss, and challenges to the intent and scheme elements. No outcome is ever guaranteed; the realistic options depend on the evidence and the person’s history. See How to Get Criminal Charges Dropped in Florida for the full picture.

If I pay the money back, will the charges go away?

Not automatically — and repayment handled the wrong way can be treated as an admission. Restitution can matter in negotiations and at sentencing, and in some cases it influences the State’s charging decisions, but there is no rule that repayment ends a prosecution. Any repayment in a case under investigation should run through defense counsel.

When does fraud become a federal case?

When the scheme used the mail or interstate wires, affected a financial institution, involved federal funds or programs, or crossed state lines — which, in the era of electronic payments, describes most substantial fraud allegations. Federal prosecutors have discretion to take or decline these cases, and some conduct can be charged in either system. Mail and wire fraud each carry up to 20 years, rising to 30 where a financial institution or disaster-relief funds are involved.