This week, we celebrated Senior Day at the Florida Capitol. More than five million seniors call Florida home. Some are lifelong Floridians. Others moved here to retire and enjoy our warm weather, great economy and beautiful beaches.

Seniors also play an important role in our efforts to fight fraud aimed at older Floridians. In recognition of the day, I invited members of our Seniors v. Crime Program to our office to thank them for the work they do to protect Floridians.

These volunteers, called Senior Sleuths, helped recover more than a million dollars last year. They recovered an additional value of $986,327 through realized gains, such as a contractor returning to finish promised work or credits applied to a future purchase.

Protecting Florida’s seniors is a top priority of our office, and these Senior Sleuths volunteer their time to help fight fraud and protect older Floridians from scams. They are also now playing an important role on Florida’s new Senior Protection Team.

The team is comprised of leading members from our Office of Statewide Prosecution, Consumer Protection Division and Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Seniors v. Crime and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement are actively assisting the team with investigations and outreach efforts.

The goal is to bring attorneys and investigators specialized in fighting civil, criminal and health care fraud together to develop strategies to protect Floridians 60 and older.

For more information about our Senior Protection Team, click here. To report senior fraud, call 1(866) 9NO-SCAM or visit MyFloridaLegal.com.