Jason R. Coody, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida
Rodrick Florence Jr., a 35-year-old resident of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to 72 months in federal prison for his involvement in a bank fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft. The announcement came from John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
"This case is an excellent example of how coordination between federal, state, and private stakeholders leads to justice for those in our community whose identities were stolen and the federally insured financial institutions that were defrauded," stated U.S. Attorney Heekin. He highlighted the cooperation among various law enforcement agencies and private sector partners as crucial in dismantling large-scale impersonation fraud rings.
Court documents revealed that between 2021 and 2023, Florence held personal information of over 7,500 individuals to fraudulently withdraw funds from their bank accounts. Working with accomplices, he created fake identification and bank cards using real people's details. These were used to access account funds through cash withdrawals and counterfeit check cashing at banks and credit unions nationwide. Navy Federal Credit Union reported that Florence's group attempted to access over 250 member accounts, successfully obtaining more than $335,000.
Florence received a sentence of 48 months for bank fraud conspiracy followed by a mandatory consecutive 24 months for aggravated identity theft.
Other conspirators faced convictions in state court through this joint investigation. Freedom Prince Brown was sentenced to 48 months after pleading guilty to racketeering; Ridel Baptiste Michel served approximately 20.5 months after pleading guilty to racketeering; James Matthew Spears served about 23.9 months after charges including illegal use of personal identification information; Michelle Moore received a sentence of 24 months on similar charges.
"Navy Federal commends the efforts to hold accountable those who defrauded our members," said a Navy Federal Spokesperson. "We fully support the pursuit of justice of the fullest extent permitted by the law."
Carrollton Police Department Chief Joel Richards remarked on the case: "The sentencing of Rodrick Florence Jr. sends a clear message that criminal behavior of this nature will not be tolerated." He praised all involved agencies for their dedication to justice.
The investigation involved multiple agencies including the United States Postal Inspection Service, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, Gulf Breeze Police Department, State Attorney’s Office for the First Judicial Circuit, with assistance from Navy Federal Credit Union Global Security Investigations team and Carrollton Police Department.
Assistant United States Attorney Alicia Forbes prosecuted the federal case while Assistant State Attorneys Robert Paul Gillespie and Ki McInnis handled state prosecutions.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one among 94 offices serving under the Attorney General's direction. Public court documents can be accessed via the U.S. District Court for Northern District of Florida website.
