Florida
Gold coins stolen from centuries-old Spanish convoy in $1M heist recovered by Florida authorities
Florida authorities recovered a collection of gold coins from an 18th-century Spanish convoy that was stolen in 2015.
The 37 gold coins were snatched from the 1715 Spanish Treasure Fleet and have a total value of $1 million, according to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission press release.
The 1715 Fleet was a combination of two different groups of Spanish ships, all under one command, heading back to Spain following a successful round of treasure hunting. The fleet fell victim to a hurricane and crashed somewhere off the coast of Florida. Their spoils, including the coins, all sank to the bottom of the ocean.
Exactly 300 years later, 101 gold coins were recovered in 2015 by the Schmitt family off of Florida’s aptly named Treasure Coast. The family worked specifically to recover treasure from the Spanish fleet, even naming their LLC the 1715 Fleet – Queens Jewels.
However, only 51 of the coins were recorded, leaving the other 50 in limbo.
“While 51 of these coins were reported correctly and adjudicated, 50 coins were not disclosed and were subsequently stolen,” the FWC wrote.
The robbery sparked an FBI investigation into Eric Schmitt, one of the family members responsible for the discovery. The probe specifically looked into “the illegal sale of multiple stolen gold coins between 2023 and 2024.”
“Investigators executed multiple search warrants, recovering coins from private residences, safe deposit boxes and auctions,” the press release noted.
Conservation Commission, displayed on a table. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
“Five stolen coins were reclaimed from a Florida-based auctioneer, who unknowingly purchased them from Eric Schmitt.”
Schmitt had also apparently taken three of the gold coins that he didn’t report and tossed them back into the ocean “to be found by the new investors of 1715 Fleet – Queens Jewels, LLC.”
Even so, 13 of the coins are still missing. The FWC wrote that finding 37 of them “marks a major milestone in a long-standing investigation into the theft and illegal trafficking of these priceless historical artifacts.”
TCPalm staff share their top restaurant recommendations in Vero Beach, Sebastian, Fellsmere.
Indian River County is home to many unique restaurants, far too many to choose from.
There are so many restaurants on the Treasure Coast to try, but it can be hard knowing where to start.
Here are the TCPalm staff’s recommendations for restaurants in Vero Beach, Sebastian and Fellsmere.
Indian River County restaurant recommendations
Olivia Franklin is TCPalm’s trending reporter. You can contact her at olivia.franklin@tcpalm.com, 317-627-8048 or follow her on X @Livvvvv_5.
Florida
Pilot program aims to build $200K homes in Central Florida to help low-income families buy, not rent
ORLANDO, Fla. – For many Central Florida families, the dream of owning a home feels further out of reach than ever.
With the median home price now topping $400,000, a new pilot program in Orlando is trying to change that by building new homes for about half the cost.
A lot off Quill Avenue in Parramore may not look like much right now, but organizers say it could soon be the site of a new home priced around $200,000 for low-income families.
“We just really wanted an opportunity to bring actual affordable housing to people who have basically been forever renters,” said Satrina Whithead with the GXVE Homes Initiative.
The GXVE Homes Initiative says the goal is to help families earning between $16,000 and $65,000 a year get a chance at homeownership. Whithead said the homes could range from 500 to 1,400 square feet, depending on the lot size and location.
The Orlando Regional Realtor Association reports the median home price in the area is now more than $400,000. Whithead said GXVE hopes to sell homes for about half that.
“There’s nothing wrong with profit, but at the end of the day, I want to help where the need is greatest,” Whithead said.
Organizers say they are already planning to build in Parramore and are working to close on two additional properties. They also say they have properties planned in Sanford and Mims, with a goal of bringing eight homes a year to Central Florida.
“You can pay 80 percent of your salary on rent just to have a place to live. So getting that number back down to around 50 percent is extremely important,” said Mike Harris, vice president of GXVE Homes.
Florida Made Tiny Homes, which is partnering with the organization, said it plans to build concrete homes that exceed safety requirements for the area.
“I don’t think there’s going to be anything available on the market in that price range, much less new construction,” said Dylan Grace, co-founder of Florida Made Tiny Homes.
Program organizers say they expect to start construction in the fall and hope to complete the first home within six to eight months after work begins. For more information please click here.
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ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — A former Florida juvenile probation officer is facing more than 100 felony charges after investigators said she leaked confidential court and law enforcement information to people tied to a drug trafficking investigation.
Crystal Gaynell Ann Lawson was booked into the Orange County Jail on Thursday, according to Orange County Corrections records.
Investigators said Lawson improperly accessed the Comprehensive Case Information System, or CCIS, more than 100 times and shared information from active criminal cases with members of a drug trafficking organization.
FOX 35 Orlando reported Lawson was arrested on 113 felony counts of computer crimes for unauthorized access. Investigators said she allegedly accessed the database 106 times between January and May.
Lawson is accused of using the database to search for active criminal cases tied to members of the organization. Authorities said some of the information that was leaked included arrest warrants and documents connected to an active investigation.
Lawson was hired by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice in February 2022. As part of that job, she was given access to the CCIS database. Authorities said she was fired later that year after an arrest, but her database access was not terminated.
See also: ‘Elf,’ ‘Couples Retreat’ actor jailed with no bond after Florida arrest
Investigators said the leaks resulted in lost evidence, unrecovered assets and at least one person fleeing to avoid arrest before later being taken into custody.
Lawson previously worked for the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, where she had access to the court information system as part of her job. Authorities said she was later fired, but her database access was not terminated.
Orange County Corrections records list Lawson’s case status as “presentenced” and show multiple entries for “offense against computer users.”
The records list the arresting agency as the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and show bond amounts of $10,000 on several listed case sequences. The jail record also notes an “ICJIS Affidavit.”
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