United States Attorney’s Office Announces Departure Of Roger B. Handberg As U.S. Attorney

Orlando, Florida – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida announces the departure of Roger B. Handberg as U.S. Attorney.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara C. Sweeney will serve as the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Handberg was a career federal prosecutor. He joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2002, and he served in various senior positions within the office, including as Criminal Chief (North), Chief of the Orlando Division, and Senior Litigation Counsel. During his career with the office, U.S. Attorney Handberg specialized in the investigation and prosecution of public corruption and white-collar crime cases. As part of his practice, he successfully prosecuted more than $500 million in fraud cases.

In December 2021, U.S. Attorney Handberg was appointed as United States Attorney by order of the Attorney General, and he was reappointed by the Chief Judge of the United States District Court in April 2022. President Joseph R. Biden nominated U.S. Attorney Handberg for the position in September 2022, and he was confirmed by the United States Senate in December 2022.

Under his leadership, the U.S. Attorney’s Office increased its number of criminal cases by more than 60% over the past three fiscal years. That includes increases in each of the five offices:

• Ocala                          124% increase

• Orlando                        90% increase

• Jacksonville                  87% increase

• Fort Myers                   51% increase

• Tampa                          35% increase

These increases have been in every type of prosecution:

• Violent crime               77% increase

• Child exploitation       70% increase

• Immigration                69% increase

• White collar                53% increase

• Drug trafficking       33% increase

U.S. Attorney Handberg prioritized each of these categories of prosecutions.  “During my more than three years as Untied States Attorney, I made it a priority to engage with the community, to hear directly from the people that my office served to learn about their priorities and what is important to them, and to let them know about the great work that is being done by law enforcement,” said U.S. Attorney Handberg. “As part of those efforts, I made more than 100 speeches and presentations to local organizations, bar associations, and chambers of commerce, and at other gatherings and press conferences. From my many conversations with members of the community and law enforcement leaders, I tried to focus the efforts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office on the matters of most pressing concern.”

With respect to violent crime, one of U.S. Attorney Handberg’s first actions was increasing the number of prosecutors in the office focused on violent crime and firearms cases. Over the past three fiscal years, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has federally charged more than 750 defendants with firearms violations, with more than 300 of those defendants being charged in the 2024 fiscal year. That is the largest number of firearms violations ever charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in a single year. The following are some of the significant violent crime and firearms cases that were prosecuted during U.S. Attorney Handberg’s tenure:

• Seven defendants charged with offenses stemming from 4 years of dealing in drugs and an armed robbery spree that culminated in a double homicide

• More than 50 defendants prosecuted as part of the Polk County Violent Crime Task Force established by Sheriff Grady Judd after a shooting in Lakeland

• Three defendants indicted for the contract killing of a 17-year-old Hernando County high school student to prevent her testimony in court

• Two defendants charged with committing a drive-by shooting on I-95, brought in connection with a largescale drug trafficking and firearms trafficking investigation

• Firearms trafficker sentenced to more than 13 years in federal prison for trying to send firearms to Mexican drug cartel members

• Defendant sentenced to consecutive life sentences for double homicide and armed robbery of a Florida couple

• 160 firearms and violent crime cases prosecuted with the Tampa Police Department and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in 2022

The U.S. Attorney’s Office has continued to be a leader in the prosecution of child exploitation and sex trafficking offenses. Over the past three fiscal years, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has charged more than 340 child exploitation and sex trafficking cases, including more than 130 cases in fiscal year 2024. That is the highest number of child exploitation prosecutions charged in a single year in the office’s history. Significant cases include:

• The first three “AI” cases brought in the District’s history involving defendants who produced and distributed AI-generated child sexual abuse material, who used a cellphone application to create and possess synthetic or “AI” images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and who possessed AI generated images that appeared to depict minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct

• Sanford foster parent sentenced to 170 years in federal prison for exploiting least 18 children under his care and for using them to produce depictions of child sexual abuse

• Bradenton defendant sentenced to life in federal prison for sexually abusing two minor victims for six years

During that same timeframe, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has prosecuted more than 600 immigration cases. Significant prosecutions include:

• Two defendants plead guilty for attempting to smuggle 25 migrants to Brevard County from the Bahamas as part of a conspiracy responsible for the smuggling of more than 90 migrants, some of whom were employed by one of the defendants to do construction work

• Five defendants indicted for operating shell companies to “rent” workers’ compensation to work crews that unlawfully employed illegal aliens and for cashing approximately $292 million in payroll checks and failing to pay more than $52 million in payroll taxes

• Concrete company owner pleads guilty to harboring more than 50 illegal aliens who worked at his company

The U.S. Attorney’s Office has charged more than 500 white collar cases over the past three fiscal years, with more than $1 billion in restitution being ordered to be paid to victims during that time period. Those cases include:

• Administrator of webhosting domain indicted for engaging in a ransomware scheme that resulted in the payment of more than $100 million in ransoms

• Defendant indicted for a $70 million Medicare fraud scheme involving the payment of kickbacks and bribes to obtain doctors’ orders for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment

• Two defendant plead guilty to more than $14 million in COVID test kit fraud and to more than $5 million in COVID testing fraud

• Former Jacksonville Electric Authority CEO sentenced to four years in federal prison for conspiracy to steal and embezzle approximately $40 million

• Over 100 defendants federally charged with COVID fraud

• Defendant sentenced to 24 years in federal prison for $57 million investment fraud

• Four defendants charged with engaging in bank fraud and money laundering conspiracies involving more than $128 million in criminal proceeds

• Prosecution of more than 60 cases against public officials, government employees, and others who breached the trust that was placed in them or who conspired with them, including former Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg and six others convicted of bribery, honest services fraud, or fraud offenses as part of the Greenberg investigation

The U.S. Attorney’s Office has charged more than 1,100 defendants with drug trafficking offenses and seized more than $3 billion in narcotics. Fentanyl trafficking in particular has been a top priority. The number of defendants being federally prosecuted in those cases has more than doubled, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office and its law enforcement partners have seized more than 80 million fatal dosage units of fentanyl. Significant cases include:

• 16 Chinese nationals and 13 Chinese companies indicted in 2023 and 2024 for their role in trafficking in the precursor chemicals that cartels use to manufacture fentanyl

• Former Deputy Sheriff and DEA Task Force Officer plead guilty to conspiring to distribute narcotics, defrauding the United States, and tax evasion

• Colombian National Police Officer indicted for role in cocaine trafficking conspiracy

• Fentanyl trafficker sentenced to life in federal prison for causing fatal overdose

• Four charged in fentanyl overdose death of a University of South Florida student

• Defendant responsible for the largest methamphetamine seizure in the history of DEA in Orlando sentenced to 19 years in federal prison

• Port Richey brothers plead guilty to trafficking 100 kilograms of fentanyl

U.S. Attorney Handberg increased the size of the office’s National Security Section and added dedicated national security prosecutors to three offices. He also created a Civil Rights Unit in the Civil Division. These efforts resulted in the doubling of the number of national security prosecutions over the past three fiscal years and an increased focus on civil rights enforcement. Significant matters include:

• More than 25 defendants charged for making true threats or committing hate crimes

• Defendant sentenced to four years in federal prison for conspiring to act as an agent of the People’s Republic of China in the United States

• Two Florida steel traders sentenced to 72 months and 21 months in federal prison for money laundering and Russia-Ukraine Sanctions violations

• Jordan national pleads guilty to threatening to use explosives and destroying an energy facility

• Defendant sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for unlawfully exporting technical data of critical U.S. military technology

• Two Florida men sentenced to 60 months and 36 months in federal prison for a racially-motivated hate crime for violent assault of a Black man

• Establishment of a 20-member Servicemembers and Veterans Working Group to safeguard the rights of servicemembers and veterans from discrimination and unfair treatment and the publication of a Manual to collect valuable legal information and resources in a centralized location

• The first redlining settlement in the history of Florida

During his tenure, U.S. Attorney Handberg increased the number of attorneys in the Civil Division to be able to handle one of the largest defensive caseloads in the country and to prioritize affirmative civil enforcement cases. In addition to ensuring excellent representation of the United States in defending civil cases, these efforts resulted in the filing of a nationwide lawsuit alleging that Walgreens knowingly filed millions of prescriptions that lacked a legitimate medical purpose and the settlement or entry of judgments of more than $500 million in claims involving government funds that had been lost due to fraud or other misconduct. Significant affirmative civil enforcement cases include:

• A Kentucky businessman and his companies have judgments of more than $370 million entered against them for a laboratory testing scheme that targeted the Medicare program

• Walgreens agrees to pay $106.8 million to resolve allegations it billed the Government for prescriptions never dispensed

• A businessman agrees to pay over $27 million for Medicare fraud in connection with cancer genomic tests

• A healthcare organization agrees to pay $24.5 million to settle allegations of unnecessary testing, improper remuneration to physicians and a false statement in connection with COVID-19 relief funds

• A hospital operator agrees to pay $20 million to settlement allegations relating to impermissible Medicaid donations

• A healthcare company to pay $19.85 million to settle allegations relating to medically unnecessary inpatient behavioral health services

• Florida research hospital agrees to pay more than $19.5 million to resolve liability relating to self-disclosure of improper billing

• Chronic disease management provider to pay $14.9 million for allegations related to the submission of false claims to Medicare

• An automotive group agrees to pay $9 million to settlement allegations relating to Paycheck Protection Program Loan

• Florida companies ordered to pay $7.6 million in redress and penalties in connection with the marketing of smoking cessation products

• Federal court issues temporary restraining order prohibiting Tampa-area clinic from distributing opioids and other prescription drugs

Recovering funds to return to crime victims has been a top priority of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The Asset Recovery Section completed the forfeiture of more than $65 million in 2022 and more than $19 million in 2023, most of which will be returned to crime victims. In 2022 and 2023, the U.S. Attorney’s Office returned to crime victims more than $68 million that had been forfeited in those and prior years.

Under U.S. Attorney Handberg’s leadership, the Middle District of Florida has become the top District in the country among non-border districts in charging defendants in federal court according to statistics compiled by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts for fiscal year 2024.

“As someone who was born and raised in this District, I can think of no higher honor than getting the chance, first, to serve as a federal prosecutor in this office and, then, as the United States Attorney,” said U.S. Attorney Handberg.  “During my more than two decades with the office, I have worked with incredible public servants at the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Through our work with the excellent local, state, and federal law enforcement partners who serve this District and our country, we have prosecuted and litigated cases that have served to protect the public, to reduce crime, to do justice for victims and the community, and to hold accountable those who have violated the law. I am grateful for my colleagues at the U.S. Attorney’s Office and for our law enforcement partners for their dedication and commitment and for everything that they do, day in and day out, to keep everyone in the Middle District of Florida and the United States safe. It has been a privilege to have served as a federal prosecutor in my hometown and to have worked side-by-side with my law enforcement partners for the past 22 years.”