Daytona Beach, FL – A former Florida House of Representatives member has been sentenced to 13 months in prison for wire fraud during his 2012 and 2014 re-election campaigns.
On August 31, 2017, 50-year-old Dwayne L. Taylor of Daytona Beach was convicted of 9 counts of wire fraud by a federal jury. On Friday, December 8, a judge sentenced Taylor to serve 13 months in prison, pay $62,834.55 in restitution, and be under supervision for 18 months after release.
Taylor was found guilty of incorrectly reporting thousands of dollars of expenditures to the State of Florida. It is believed he falsely reported those numbers to cover up a $60,000 misappropriation of campaign funds after several unreported cash withdrawals, writing checks to himself, and writing checks to petty cash. Those funds were then used towards personal expenses rather than campaign expenses.
The State of Florida requires all campaign contributions and expenditures to reported and that they are used towards the campaign exclusively, not to offset the personal expenses of the candidate or candidate’s family for any reason other than to pay for transportation, meals, and lodging during the campaign.
"Corrupt public officials undermine the integrity of our government and violate the public’s trust," said Special Agent Charles P. Spencer, head of the FBI Jacksonville Division. "This case is another example of the FBI's commitment to rooting out public corruption for the people of Florida."
Copyright Southern Stone Communications 2017.
