DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A man facing extortion charges in Daytona Beach is now accused of impersonating two different state prosecutors to try to get his criminal charges dismissed.
Prosecutors believe Christian Mosco, 47, used the identities of the state prosecutors and filed fraudulent court documents in his own case.
In that case, police say Mosco tried to extort $50,000 and a car from the Jon Hall Chevrolet dealership in Daytona Beach after finding what he claimed was sensitive customer information.
Prosecutors said the new charges Mosco is facing come after he tried to take advantage of the paperless court system. They said he used names and Florida Bar ID numbers of two assistant state attorneys, creating an email in one of their names.
They said Mosco then logged into the state's e-filing portal for court documents and altered an "announcement of no information" from someone else's case before filing on his own extortion case. Doing so, prosecutors said, would basically dismiss his extortion charges.
“I’ve been working in the system since 1980 and this is the first time I’ve seen something like this,” said State Attorney R.J. Larizza.
Prosecutors said Mosco’s plan was foiled after the clerk of court's office noticed "information" or charges had already been filed in his case.
They said a different document would have to be filed to actually dismiss the case.
Larizza said Mosco’s attorneys noticed it too, and that the system is set up to stop fraudulent activity like this.
“With every advance, people test the waters, people push the envelope… and it's just a matter of working our way through it,” Larizza said.
Larizza said the closest thing he's seen to this was in 2013, when inmates filed bogus paperwork in Orange County to get let out of prison.
He said since then such loopholes have been closed.
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