Democrat sues opponent for defamation after he notes she called Rick Scott a ‘friend’

Former Broward County Mayor Barbara Sharief is suing one of her rivals in the Democratic Senate District 35 primary, alleging that he defamed her by implying that she and her healthcare company defrauded Medicaid.

The lawsuit, filed in Broward County court on Monday morning, argues that Miramar Democrat Rodney Jacobs knowingly slandered Sharief with a campaign ad tying her to U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, the former Florida governor whose healthcare company was implicated in a sweeping Medicare fraud case more than two decades ago.

The 40-second ad features the text, “Tell us who your friends are, and we’ll tell you who you are, Barbara Sharief,” before playing a video from a 2017 speech by Sharief in which she introduces Scott as her “friend and the most business-friendly governor in the country.” The ad does not mention Medicaid.

Three Democrats — Sharief, Jacobs and attorney Chad Klitzman — are vying for their party’s nomination to represent Senate District 35, which covers a wide swath of western Broward County, including Pembroke Pines, Weston and Miramar. The winner of the Aug. 20 primary will go on to face Republican Vincent Parlatore in November.

The lawsuit points to comments Jacobs made to The Floridian, a Florida politics news site. In an interview with the outlet earlier this month, Jacobs questioned whether Sharief “got her skills” from Scott.

“We all know what Rick Scott did,” Jacobs told the Floridian. He went on to ask: “You think this is where she got her Medicaid fraud skills from, her friend?”

Scott was never charged with a crime and has maintained that he was unaware of any fraud at the company. He resigned under pressure in 1997 after federal agents made their investigation of the company public. A spokesperson for Scott’s campaign declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Sharief’s healthcare company, South Florida Pediatric Homecare, was accused more than a decade ago of overbilling Medicaid by nearly $500,000. Sharief ultimately paid nearly $700,000 to settle those claims, but has denied ever overbilling Medicaid and did not admit guilt as part of the settlements.

Sharief’s lawsuit against Jacobs isn’t the first time she’s brought a defamation case against a political rival. During her unsuccessful 2022 bid to oust state Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book, Sharief sued Book for sending out campaign mailers accusing Sharief of defrauding Medicaid. A judge ruled last week allowing that case to go to trial.

Book, who was elected to represent Florida’s redrawn 35th Senate district in 2022, is term limited and unable to seek reelection to her seat this year. The Aug. 20 primary will likely decide who replaces her, since the district favors a Democratic candidate.

Sharief’s attorney Michael Pizzi slammed Jacobs for making “the same false accusation” against his client that he said Book made two years ago, adding bluntly that Sharief “has never been investigated or accused of Medicaid fraud.” The defamation lawsuit is seeking $1 million in damages for Jacobs’ comments.

“Long after this election is over, Mr. Jacobs will be paying legal bills and massive monetary judgment for falsely accusing Mayor Sharief of crimes she was never even accused of,” Pizzi said in a statement.

An adviser to Jacobs’ campaign noted that neither Jacobs nor the ad mentioned accusations of Medicaid fraud. In a statement, Jacobs dismissed Sharief’s lawsuit as frivolous.”

“Can I be quoted as ‘yawning?’ One more Sharief campaign, one more baseless lawsuit,” Jacobs said. “I mean, this is what she does, rather than defend her record, she sues.”

This article has been updated to include additional comments from Jacobs to The Floridian.