Sophia Lacayo was arrested on Campaign Finance charges. Stay updated on the legal developments of the former Miami-Dade County Commission candidate.
Sophia Lacayo is a former Sweetwater commissioner and a past candidate for the Miami-Dade County Commission.
She faced legal troubles, including a perjury charge in 2020, as she allegedly did not reside within the city limits required to run for office.
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Sophia Lacayo Arrested And Charge
Former Sweetwater commissioner Sophia Lacayo, aged 45, was arrested on Tuesday, facing charges related to campaign finance violations.
The arrest came after an investigation by the State Attorney’s Office Task Force.
The charges stem from alleged violations of campaign finance laws, as reported by CBS News Miami’s partner, the Miami Herald.
In addition to the recent charges, Lacayo has faced legal troubles.
In 2020, she was charged with perjury due to allegedly not meeting the residency requirement mandated by the City Charter for holding office.
Following her perjury charge, Lacayo agreed to resign from her position as Sweetwater commissioner as part of a plea agreement, which spared her from serving jail time.
The recent arrest pertains to Lacayo’s previous campaign for the Miami-Dade County Commission seat.
The Miami Herald reports that Lacayo claimed to have spent $1,000,000 of her own money on the endeavor during that campaign.
The nature of the alleged false campaigning records that led to her arrest has not yet been disclosed.
A press conference is scheduled at the State Attorney’s Office in Miami on Wednesday afternoon, during which further details about the charges will likely be revealed.
Is Political Party Candidate Sophia Lacayo In Jail?
Sophia Lacayo, a former candidate for the Miami-Dade County Commission’s 12th district, was arrested on Tuesday afternoon, facing 21 charges related to the origin and use of funds from her political campaign.
The arrest occurred at Miami International Airport, and she was subsequently booked into Miami-Dade County’s Turner Guilford Knight Jail. The bail for the campaign finance-related charges is set at $14,500.
During her campaign against former Doral Mayor Juan Carlos Bermúdez, questions arose about the origin of the more than $1.9 million that Bermúdez had collected.
Lacayo’s campaign finance records revealed that a significant portion of the money came from loans she made herself.
Additionally, companies where Lacayo appeared as the owner contributed the maximum allowed amount of $1,000, and some of these companies had received federal government assistance through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) during the pandemic.
A Political Action Committee (PAC) raised concerns about the contributions from these companies that had received government loans.
After finishing the early voting week, Lacayo denied any improper use of money for her campaign and accused Bermúdez of making desperate accusations as his polls showed him trailing.
In the August elections of the previous year, Bermúdez won the race for the Miami-Dade Commission’s District 12 with 66 percent of the votes, while Lacayo obtained 34 percent.
This is not the first time Sophia Lacayo has faced legal issues. In 2019, after being elected commissioner of Sweetwater, she was charged with perjury for lying about her address.
She was later sentenced to a year of probation. As part of her plea agreement in 2020, she agreed to resign from her position, but the case records were made public despite her lawyer’s initial request to seal them.
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