The Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced today that the CEO and CFO of the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence (FCADV) are facing felony charges of organized scheme to defraud, grand theft and official misconduct.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Tiffany Carr, 54, of Port St. Joe. Carr served as the CEO of the now defunct non-profit which was in charge of distributing state and federal grants to Florida’s 42 domestic violence shelters. FCADV’s CFO, Patricia Duarte, 57, of Tallahassee, turned herself into Leon County Jail on Wednesday. Together, the pair oversaw more than $40 million in funding.

Florida ended its contact with FCADV in 2020 and in 2021, Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order dissolving the organization.

According to a FDLE news release, the investigation found that Carr and Duarte conducted a scheme to fraudulently award themselves personal time off (PTO) using funds provided through grants intended to help fund domestic violence shelters across Florida.

“They schemed together to steal more than $3.7 million for grossly inflated salaries and vacations,” said Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody. “We previously took civil action to rid the organization’s bad management, and now we are filing criminal charges against these former officials.”

FDLE’s Office of Executive Investigations started the case in 2021 after inspectors received information from the Florida Office of the Chief Inspector General, Department of Children and Families and the Florida House Public Integrity and Ethics Committee.

According to FDLE’s investigation, Carr and Duarte submitted false quarterly reports, billed the state for vacant positions, and charged for services never provided. The ill-gotten funds were allegedly used for excessive bonus and leave payouts to Carr and Duarte in the amounts of $3.4 million to Carr and $291,000 for Duarte.

The attorney general’s Office of Statewide Prosecution will prosecute this case.