{"id":892,"date":"2026-05-22T21:04:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T21:04:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=892"},"modified":"2026-05-22T21:04:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T21:04:07","slug":"prosecutors-close-inquiry-into-phishing-allegation-against-gables-commissioner-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=892","title":{"rendered":"Prosecutors close inquiry into \u2018phishing\u2019 allegation against Gables commissioner"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The inquiry into an alleged \u201cphishing\u201d scheme involving political surveys in Coral Gables is over.<\/p>\n

Read more A timeline of the relationship between Jeffrey Epstein and ex-Miami Beach mayor<\/a><\/p>\n

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The matter reviewed by Miami-Dade prosecutors relates to a series of political surveys that were sent to residents in 2023 and 2024. The State Attorney\u2019s Office said it reviewed two complaints alleging that Commissioner Ariel Fernandez was involved: one sent by Coral Gables Police Chief Edward Hudak after the City Commission voted to investigate the situation, and the other sent by Mayor Vince Lago.<\/p>\n

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The State Attorney\u2019s Office this week announced that it has closed its inquiry and will not launch a formal investigation into Fernandez after determining there was insufficient evidence linking him to the surveys.<\/p>\n

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Even if he was involved, tracking the respondents\u2019 answers \u201cis not a crime,\u201d according to a close-out memo written by Tim VanderGiesen, chief of the office\u2019s public corruption unit.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe memorandum issued by the State Attorney\u2019s office is unambiguous: the allegations against me were baseless,\u201d Fernandez told the Miami Herald in a statement. \u201cThere was no wrongdoing. None. This is not a matter of interpretation, it is a matter of fact.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The survey emails were sent to residents from People Count USA, a group that no longer has an active website and is not registered in Florida corporate or political committee records. The batch of emails was sent using the survey platform Mailchimp and began circulating in August 2023, about four months after Fernandez and Commissioner Melissa Castro were elected, beating opponents who were supported by Lago.<\/p>\n

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Details about the alleged phishing scheme were laid out in posts by the anonymous Aesop\u2019s Gables blog and a lawsuit that was filed by a Gables resident who sought to unmask the identity of the person behind the surveys.<\/p>\n

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The gist of the complaint \u201cis that Commissioner Fernandez, in his official position, ran anonymous polling, illegally tracked respondent answers, and destroyed or withheld public records relating to the same,\u201d VanderGiesen summarized in the memo.<\/p>\n

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The details raised enough concern last year for Lago, Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson and Commissioner Richard Lara to call for an investigation into the matter. Commissioner Melissa Castro, who, like Fernandez, is often at odds with the other commissioners, did not support launching an investigation that relied on an anonymous blog.<\/p>\n

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In a statement to the Herald on Friday, Lago stuck to his guns.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe State Attorney declined to pursue criminal charges. That is not the same as a finding that nothing happened, and Commissioner Fernandez knows it,\u201d the mayor said. \u201cHe has spent over a year refusing to deny that he was behind these surveys, because he cannot.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The findings<\/h2>\n

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The State Attorney\u2019s Office, with assistance from the Miami-Dade Sheriff\u2019s Office, began to gather information to see \u201cwhether the allegations rise to the level of a reasonable suspicion of crime\u201d before formally launching investigation efforts, such as subpoenas to identify the pollsters.<\/p>\n

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On Tuesday, after months of reviewing information, prosecutors determined that there was \u201cinsufficient evidence of criminal activity to warrant further inquiry\u201d and that no laws were broken, according to the memo.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis matter is now closed,\u201d VanderGiesen wrote.<\/p>\n

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The prosecutor, in the memo, laid out three reasons for his determination:<\/p>\n

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