TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — State leaders on Wednesday filed two lawsuits against the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence and its former CEO, Tiffany Carr, who received a lavish pay package one of the suits alleges was the result of a "civil conspiracy."
- AG Moody's suit aimed at dissolving coalition, recouping $7.5M
- One suit alleges Carr received lavish pay package from state funds
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The lawsuits were filed in Leon County Circuit Court by the Florida Department of Children and Families and Attorney General Ashley Moody a week after the Florida Legislature passed a measure stripping the coalition of its unique “single source entity” status under Florida law.
That status allowed the nonprofit to annually steer more than $50 million in state and federal funds to dozens of domestic violence shelters around the state.
Moody's suit is aimed at dissolving the coalition, preserving evidence, and recouping some or all of the $7.5 million the coalition paid to Carr over the last three years, including more than $4 million worth of paid time off Carr cashed out per the terms of her contract with the coalition's board.
"I am disgusted at the mismanagement and greedy misuse of public funds that were meant to assist victims of domestic violence across the state of Florida," Moody said at a Capitol press conference. "The damage caused by the actions of Ms. Carr and the leadership at the coalition will certainly take time to repair, but today's action is aimed at recovering as much of the money that was wasted on executive compensation as we can."
Meanwhile, the suit filed by DCF -- an executive agency under the purview of Gov. Ron DeSantis -- seeks damages related to the actions of Carr and 11 other executives working directly for or in partnership with the coalition.
One of the named defendants, coalition board chair Melody Keeth, told a Florida House investigatory committee last week the extent of the paid time off in Carr's contract was a "typo," but the DCF suit argues that, far from it, "negligent misrepresentation" was at play.
Carr's whereabouts were still unknown as of Wednesday. The chairman of the House panel, Rep. Tom Leek (R-Daytona Beach) told reporters at Moody's press conference the House attempted to serve Carr's lawyer, Chris Kise, with a subpoena, only to have Kise reject it, because it named Carr as a member of the FCADV's foundation, a role she no longer has.
It is also unclear if state leaders can prevail in their legal challenges of Carr's contract, a document that despite its excesses became a binding instrument when signed by herself and Keeth.
Still, some lawmakers say the very revelation of those excesses has made an enduring impact.
"My prediction: five or six years from now, we're going to be in bed, late night, and all of a sudden on the TV, it's going to say 'coming up on 'American Greed', the story of one lady pilfering millions of dollars of taxpayers' money in the Sunshine State," Sen. Aaron Bean (R-Fernandina Beach) told the press conference.