Be Careful What You Publish on Online Facebook Sites.......

If it is, indeed, illegal to merely possess the personal identification information of Florida Citizens by folks who are unauthorized--why has nothing been done about the multiple individuals that have now publicly admitted possession of such data in direct contravention to 817.5685 Florida Statutes?  I am going to ask and find out.......

Earlier today---I saw that some information was published to an online, Facebook chat site that is relevant and pertinant to continuing litigation the county has with several defendants.

Folks have GOT to realize that publishing information that is ILL-GOTTEN and unlawful to possess and disseminate will come with severe consequences.  

Because identity theft and hacking of folks' personal information is an ongoing, vexing problem for prosecutors, law enforcement, and local governments at all levels.

These unlawful disseminations of sensitive data can lead to hacking, identity-theft, and other nefarious actions by bad actors who break the law.  

So I had no choice but to notify Law Enforcement and County Legal about what had occurred.  We will see what happens from here, but this is serious stuff..........  

From my email, today:

"Good Morning Agent XXXXXXXX,

 I wanted to bring to your attention a troubling development from this morning. 

 The attached screenshot illustrates that another individual is in possession of stolen county files that are related to your investigation. (the unredacted version not released by the county under public records requests)

 This portion of these files was published online today by an individual named XXXXX XXXX on the Facebook page “Escambia Citizens Watch.”    

 It is my understanding from our recent correspondence that your investigation is still open and therefore I wanted you to have this information as soon as I got it.  If this individual, Mr. XXXX, has this part of the spreadsheet—he likely has the entire backup of my phone or at a minimum was given something to which he is not entitled by someone who does possess the entire backup unlawfully.

 As you are aware, the county has sued two individuals and one media corporation in civil court to compel the return of these unredacted, non-public record files that were stolen from the county. (which files contain protected, confidential, privileged, and sensitive personal identification information, credit card information, banking information, medical information, pictures of driver’s licenses and passports, and over 100 other examples of protected information on more than one dozen county citizens)

 By copy of this email to the County Attorney and Deputy County Attorney I will request we schedule a shade session to discuss amending our civil complaint to add Mr. XXXX to the suit.

 I am also copying State Attorney Ginger Bowden Madden and Assistant State Attorney Greg Marcile on this email for their awareness and attention.  The county continues to do everything in it’s power to compel the return of these stolen files via civil court---but as of today and over the last 9 months 3 of my 5 close family members have had fraud on their accounts!  The fact that so much sensitive data that is illegal for these individuals to even merely possess remains unsecured continues to be a source of stress, concern, and consternation for my family members and others who are aware this data is “out there.”

 So I’d like to discuss this with the prosecutor’s office as I am also, by copy of this email to Ms. Bowden Madden and Mr. Marcile, requesting a meeting with them as soon as practical for this purpose.

 Thank you, in advance, for your attention to this matter.

 Very Respectfully,

 Jeff Bergosh

District 1 Commissioner

Escambia Board of County Commissioners

221 Palafox Place Suite 400

Pensacola, FL 32502

850-595-4910 office

850-377-2209 Voicemail

District1@myescambia.com

www.jeffbergoshblog.blogspot.com

https://www.facebook.com/CommissionerBergosh/

Twitter-- @jeffbergosh"

 

New Judge in County's Replevin/Conversion Lawsuit is Moving Quickly

After the last minute recusal by the Escambia County Judge assigned in Escambia County's Replevin/Conversion Lawsuit against Jonathan Owens, Alex Arduini, and Gannett--the case was transferred to Okaloosa County.  Nobody knew how long a delay this inexplicable, last-minute recusal would cause.

Late yesterday afternoon we got the answer.

The newly appointed Judge in this case has immediately scheduled a show cause hearing.  And this new judge in the county's case is moving quickly.

The hearing is one week from tomorrow at 11:30.

See Judge Schlechter's order, below.

Jonathan Owens Doesn't Rate a Taxpayer Funded Legal Defense

Because mere possession of personal identification information by those who are unauthorized is a crime, and Jonathan Owens freely admits he possesses such information, his request for a taxpayer funded legal defense should be met with a denial.

Tomorrow morning on our agenda of the regular meeting of the Board of County Commissioners, we will be discussing a request from former employee Jonathan Owens.  

Owens is requesting that county taxpayers fund his legal defense in a civil lawsuit he is facing and also in an ethics complaint he is defending.

Yes, the county does have a policy that provides, in some circumstances, a legal defense for an employee who faces litigation arising from such an employee's normal and routine employment activities.

Jonathan's case does not meet that standard.  

And many believe Jonathan is actually guilty of a crime, a third degree felony, by possessing, unauthorized, the personal identification information on five or more individuals, which is illegal under Florida Law. 

Owens claims he innocently, when he was a county employee, came into possession of a file containing this personal identification information.  Furthermore, he admitted reading this file, keeping it, and disseminating it unredacted to a law firm suing the county.  He admitted his possession of this file in the newspaper and on the radio on Andrew Tallman McKay's program on AM1620 back on August 7th. (transcript here)

This is why law enforcement is investigating this issue--they know it is illegal, too! They (law enforcement and the State Attorney's Office) know this file has pictures, text messages, and other information that should not be possessed by anyone who is not authorized to possess it.  Mere possession under the statute is unlawful.  --and Jonathan is specifically NOT authorized to possess this file, which contains:

a.     Social security numbers for at least 3 individuals.

b.     User names and passwords for e-mail and service accounts.

c.    American Banking Association routing and bank account numbers for multiple accounts.

d.     The address and access codes for the electronic gate and lock on a private residential condominium.

e.     Photographs of the Passports of two persons.

f.      IRS tax returns for two separate persons.

g.     Insurance cards.

h.     Credit and debit card pictures, numbers and PINs.

i.      Pictures of Driver’s Licenses of two separate persons.

j.      W-2 forms for one person.

 

6.         Additionally, the file includes personal and private discussions on the following health matters relating to at least 13 different individual citizens who are not public figures and that are also not in any way connected to Escambia County’s Government:

 

            a.         Colonoscopy.

            b.         Hospitalizations.

            c.         Psychological Diagnoses.

            d.         Miscarriage.

            e.         Cancer.

            f.          Heart attack.

            g.         Parkinson’s Disease.

            h.         Cancer diagnosis and prognosis.

            i.          Suicide.

            j.          COVID Vaccination Status.

            k.         COVID Diagnoses.

Information such as this, above, is not a public record and would not be released under any public records request ever.  If people want public records, they should request them, not steal and distribute them as has happened here.  And because Jonathan has a copy of the stolen files and has admitted this--he must also know this:  mere possession of such information by those who are unauthorized is a crime, and therefore Owens' request for a taxpayer funded legal defense should be met with a denial.

So What Does Fla. Stat. § 817.5685 Say, and What Does it Mean?

In the iconic opening credits sequence
of 1977's Saturday Night Fever, John
Travolta "struts" down the New York
street, carrying a can of paint.

I'm not a lawyer but I know several of them and I can read.  

So when I read the letter sent to law enforcement by the County Attorney in the aftermath of the recent data breach/theft of county records from the IT department-----I paid close attention to it.  The letter was sent to the State Attorney's Office in June, and a certain statute referenced in there piqued my interest. § 817.5685.  

This theft of information from the county which prompted the letter-- which breach subsequently led to confidential, private, privileged information being unlawfully possessed and disseminated by former county employee Jonathan Owens, a fact that he himself has admitted on the radio and in the news paper and a fact the attorneys for Rayme Edler have also confirmed --this theft is now being investigated by law enforcement.

And I am confident the authorities will find the guilty party who stole this protected, exempt information--whoever it was.

But even if someone other than Jonathan Owens actually stole the information and records (which I do not believe), and simply provided them to Jonathan while he was an employee of the county, as he, Jonathan, has publicly stated--it does not absolve Jonathan of any wrongdoing under this statute--because  according to this statute--the operative word is "possessed". Jonathan admitted to the PNJ in this article and on the radio on Tallman McKay's show that he not only read the text file and continues to possess it--- he's also  subsequently given it to others un-redacted. 

Because  he read it--Jonathan knew or should have known it contained exempt and personal identification information that should not only never be released--it should never even be possessed by anyone not specifically authorized to have it.  Jonathan is not authorized to have it--and he knows it.  

A thorough review of this file that Jonathan Owens unlawfully possessed, read, and then released un-redacted has now been completed--- and it has been revealed that this file contains more than 100 lines of exempt information.  (social security numbers of multiple persons, bank account numbers of multiple persons, loan numbers of multiple persons,  medical conditions, diagnoses and prognoses records of at least a dozen local citizens, security codes, access codes for premises, medical records and diagnoses on dependents on the county's medical plan as well as confidential medical information on citizens unaffiliated with the county that live out of state, privileged attorney client conversations,  and other sensitive information that would NEVER be released under any public records request, ever.).  

So why would someone who has handled a literal ton of public records requests (Owens, who was disgraced former D2 commissioner Doug Underhill's personal secretary and office manager) and who purportedly knows the rules and laws on this topic--supposedly------why would he release such information unredacted in contravention to Florida law?  Who knows, but he seems awfully proud about it.  Super proud and confident.  Almost as if he's strutting about it, like John Travolta in the opening scenes of "Saturday Night Fever." 

So What Does Fla. Stat. § 817.5685 Say, and What Does it Mean, and what penalties does it describe for violation, anyway?

Here is the relevant portion of the statute, verbatim

"817.5685 Unlawful possession of the personal identification information of another person.—

(1) As used in this section, the term “personal identification information” means a person’s social security number, official state-issued or United States-issued driver license or identification number, alien registration number, government passport number, employer or taxpayer identification number, Medicaid or food assistance account number, bank account number, credit or debit card number, and medical records.

(2) It is unlawful for a person to intentionally or knowingly possess, without authorization, the personal identification information of another person in any form, including, but not limited to, mail, physical documents, identification cards, or information stored in digital form.

(3)(a) A person who violates subsection (2) and in doing so possesses the personal identification information of four or fewer persons commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

(b)1. Proof that a person used or was in possession of the personal identification information of five or more individuals, unless satisfactorily explained, gives rise to an inference that the person who used or was in possession of the personal identification information did so knowingly and intentionally without authorization.

2. A person who violates subsection (2) and in doing so possesses the personal identification information of five or more persons commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084."

 

Victims of Contractor Fraud: Go to the Florida Homeowners Construction Recovery Fund

We are all hearing about the dozens of cases of alleged fraud in our area where contractors have been accused of taking money from clients then subsequently never completing the work.  Or doing part of the work and not finishing.  Or never even starting.  And when refunds are requested, they are not given.

Some folks are out tens of thousands of dollars.  Some even more.

Now, one such contractor has gone bankrupt and has been arrested.

Another is facing allegations and loss of his license.

Meanwhile, the victims (which are growing exponentially) are wondering how they are to be repaid.

One mechanism that is available is the Florida Homeowner's Construction Recovery Fund.

From the Bar Journal article describing this fund:

"The Florida Homeowners’ Construction Recovery Fund (Fund) was established in 1993 in order “to compensate consumers who suffer monetary damages as a result of certain violations by licensed contractors.”1 The Fund’s legislative purpose is to “compensate an aggrieved claimant who contracted for the construction or improvement of the homeowner’s residence2 located within this state and who has obtained a final judgment in a court of competent jurisdiction, was awarded restitution by the Florida Construction Industry Licensing Board (CILB), or received an award in arbitration against a licensee based on specified acts.”3 The CILB is a professional licensing board within the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR).4 The Fund provides a remedy for claimants that becomes available once the claimant has exhausted diligent efforts to seek reimbursement from the contractor.5"

Florida  I am told there is a cap for recovery from this fund of $25,000.00.  I'm also told there is significant documentation/paperwork requirements to qualify.

But if you are out tens of thousands of dollars--it may be well worthwhile to go through the paperwork requirements to try and collect some of your money.

Download the claim form here