A Winter Springs man is facing serious charges after an alleged petition fraud scheme linked to a failed Florida marijuana proposal. Alexander Dean Francis, 33, was arrested for reportedly submitting hundreds of fraudulent petitions to various Supervisor of Elections offices across the state, including several in Flagler County. The petitions were related to Amendment 3, a measure that, if passed, would have legalized recreational marijuana use in Florida.
The arrest, which was made yesterday in Flagler County, unveiled a disturbing exploitation of personal identification information. According to the ClickOrlando report, the Attorney General's Office stated that many of Francis's victims were over 60 years old, and at least 35 people had their personal details used without knowledge or consent. This deceit directly challenges the integrity of the democratic process, as illuminated by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who stated that "Targeting seniors and exploiting their identities to commit voter fraud and change our state’s constitution is abhorrent and an affront to our republican form of government."
Francis has been charged with one count of criminal use of personal identification information and an additional 37 counts for using the identification of victims over the age of 60. The Sunshine Sentinel states that if convicted on all counts, the consequences could be severe, with a potential sentence adding up to 585 years in prison. This includes up to thirty years for the first-degree felony charge alone.
