Bogus letters claim state representative candidate under criminal investigation
At least six people who contributed financially to a Florida Keys man running for state representative in the 2020 election received fake letters last week on official law enforcement letterhead and stationery claiming they face criminal investigation if they send the candidate any more money.
The letters are written under Florida Department of Law Enforcement letterhead and came in FDLE envelopes, but the agency did not send them, according to Monroe County State Attorney Dennis Ward, whose office launched an investigation into the mailings this week.
“It’s a pretty dirty thing to do,” Ward said.
The targeted candidate is Jim Mooney, a real estate agent and Islamorada city councilman. The letter states that his supporters face investigation into whether they or their businesses benefited financially from any official actions or votes taken by Mooney as an elected official.
“As a beneficiary of any preceding official actions, you may face criminal exposure, your business assets may be seized and/or you may be required to provide testimony as part of the criminal investigation,” the bogus letter states.
Mooney, a Republican serving his second four-year term on the council, said his supporters started receiving the letters late last week.
“They’re basically trying to scare off anyone else that wants to contribute,” he said Monday.
Mooney is one of five candidates competing to take over state House District 120 when Holly Raschein steps down due to term limits in November. The field includes four Republicans and one Democrat.
So far, Mooney, who filed in August, is coming in a distant second place in terms of fundraising, with about $40,000, outdone by newcomer Rhonda Rebman Lopez, of Key Largo. She has raised more than $130,000 since filing in September, according to state election records.
Rebman Lopez is president of Peco International Electric, Inc., a Miami company that exports electrical equipment to the Caribbean and Central and South America, according to its website.
Homestead attorney Alexander Suarez, who filed in May as a Republican, has raised close to $33,000. Jose Peixoto, also a Republican, has raised no money since filing in early November. Neither has Democrat Roy David Walker, who also filed in early November.
FDLE representatives were not immediately available to comment on the phony letters. Ivan Ramirez, spokesman for the United States Postal Inspection Service, said the agency is not investigating the letters, and at first glance, they do not appear to rise to the level of federal mail fraud.
“We would not get involved with that,” he said Monday.
The bogus FDLE letters conclude that any further contributions or solicitations to contribute to Mooney’s campaign “may be used as evidence of your participation as a co-conspirator in any scheme to reward Commissioner Mooney for his official actions on your behalf with campaign funds or participation in fundraising activities.”
“This type of illegal quid pro quo is a clear violation of Florida criminal statutes which prohibit corrupt pay-for-play promises of favors or official actions in return for campaign donations or campaign fundraising activity,” the letter states. “We therefor advise you to govern and conduct yourself accordingly.”
