Florida’s Republican Lt. Governor, Jennifer Carroll, just resigned amid a financial scandal including charges of money laundering. Not Carroll’s first scandal while she was in Governor Rick Scott‘s administration. Last summer, Carroll, who is a Christian minister and married to a man, was accused of being caught in a “compromising position” with a female staffer while in her office.
Carroll’s defense, which she shared with reporters, was, “it’s not just one person you’re attacking. It’s an entire family. My husband doesn’t want to hear that. He knows the type of woman I am. I mean, my kids know the type of woman I am… Usually black women that look like me don’t engage in relationships like that.”
Carroll is 53, born in Trinidad, and served as a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy from 1979-1999. She also served in the Florida State House of Representatives from 2003-2010.
Carroll’s son, Nolan Carroll II, plays for the Miami Dolphins.
“Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll abruptly resigned Tuesday amid law enforcement questions about a Florida Internet sweepstakes company at the center of a nationwide criminal investigation,” the Tampa Bay Times reported today:
Florida Department of Law Enforcement interviewed Carroll Monday about her connections to the company, Allied Veterans of the World, a Florida-based non-profit that operates a chain of Internet cafes. Carroll once owned a public relations firm that represented Allied Veterans, and she did work for the company at the same time she served in the Florida House.
It’s unclear if Carroll is the target of any criminal charges.
“Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll consulted for Allied Veterans while serving as a member of the Florida House of Representatives in 2009 and 2010. She was interviewed by Florida Department of Law Enforcement officers Monday regarding her work with the company,” Gov. Rick Scott’s chief of staff, Adam Hollingsworth, said in a statement. “Lt. Gov. Carroll resigned in an effort to keep her former affiliations with the company from distracting from the administration’s important work on behalf of Florida families. She made the right decision for the state and her family.”
The Internal Revenue Service, Secret Service, FDLE and sheriff’s offices in Jacksonville and elsewhere are all part of the criminal investigation. Investigators said that Allied Veterans tried to scheme and defraud the public and governmental agencies by misrepresenting how much of its proceeds were donated to charities affiliated with Veterans Administration.
In 2010, Carroll was criticized for introducing legislation to legalize sweepstakes games such as those in cafes operated by Allied Veterans. Then, as in now, Allied Veterans and other internet cafe operators took advantage of a loophole in state law that some say should be closed while other say internet cafes should be legal but regulated.