Serious Criminal Record, Still Licensed, How?

[Michael D.]

Hello everyone,

I wanted to bring up a concern that’s been weighing on me. I won’t go into a long backstory, but there’s a real estate agent in Florida who still holds an active license despite being found guilty of 40 counts of money laundering and 49 counts of health care fraud. This individual served 90 months in federal prison and was released—but still has access to sensitive client information through their license.

To me, this raises serious ethical concerns. It feels like a failure on the part of DBPR and FREC to properly protect the public. It also makes it seem like holding a Florida real estate license is more about revenue for the state than public trust or safety.

I normally try not to let these things get to me, but this situation hit close to home. This agent has worked at two firms already and is now at a third, in a different county. At one point, my wife—who works as a maintenance coordinator handling work orders and vendor relationships for over 250 investor properties—was put in a very uncomfortable position involving some documents. Thankfully, her manager supported her and the agent is no longer with that firm.

My question is: where is the accountability from FREC or DBPR? I know of at least four people who have reported this individual, yet nothing has changed. As someone who isn’t a licensed agent myself, I’m trying to understand—is this typical? Can someone with that kind of criminal history really continue to operate in real estate? I know I wouldn’t feel comfortable if an agent with that background had access to my personal information.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I appreciate any insight you can share.