Opinion ID: 1846641
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: White Collar Crime

Text: The defendants raised similar challenges to count 130 in the information, which charged the defendants with violating section 775.0844, the White Collar Crime Victim Protection Act. The defendants argued that section 817.505 was not a proper predicate upon which to base the white collar crime charge. The trial court again agreed and dismissed this count. Section 775.0844(2), Florida Statutes (2002), provides: Due to the frequency with which victims, particularly elderly victims, are deceived and cheated by criminals who commit nonviolent frauds and swindles, frequently through the use of the Internet and other electronic technology and frequently causing the loss of substantial amounts of property, it is the intent of the Legislature to enhance the sanctions imposed for nonviolent frauds and swindles, protect the public's property, and assist in prosecuting white collar criminals. Section 775.0844(3)(a)(4) provides that white collar crime means the commission or conspiracy to commit any felony offense specified in [c]hapter 817, relating to fraudulent practices. The Fifth District affirmed the trial court's dismissal of this charge for the same reasons that it affirmed the dismissal of the racketeering charges. Rubio, 917 So.2d at 400. For the reasons set forth in the analysis in the prior section of this opinion concerning the RICO predicate issue, we affirm the Fifth District's decision on this issue.