Sentencing postponed for Stephen Alford, who attempted to extort millions from Gaetz family

PENSACOLA — The sentencing of longtime Niceville resident Stephen Alford, who is facing up to 20 years in prison for attempting to extort millions of dollars from the politically powerful family of Congressman Matt Gaetz, has been postponed until June 1.

A hearing scheduled for Monday at the U.S. District Courthouse in Pensacola was convened at 9 a.m. and ordered continued six minutes later, court records show.

No cause was given, but a stack of sealed court documents appearing in the District Court Clerk's electronic file indicate a dispute may have arisen over a pre-sentencing report filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

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Alford pleaded guilty to a single count of wire fraud on Nov. 21 of last year. Since then, two draft presentencing reports have been filed, the first on Jan. 12 and the second April 11. In between, the defense has filed five responses to one or the other of the presentencing reports. The first response was filed March 18, records show, and since that time responses have been filed on April 6, April 12, April 14 and April 16.

Alford has spent much of his adult life either trying to pull off some spectacular con job or serving time after authorities got wind of his scams.

In 2009 he was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for crimes that included grand theft and money laundering. In that case he and a cohort were caught selling off shares of military-owned parcels on Okaloosa Island ahead of what was to be a massive land swap involving the United States Air Force and a forestry company in rural Taylor County.

In 2017, Alford received a four-year prison sentence for a the criminal use of personal information and communications fraud.

U.S. District Court Judge Casey Rodgers, who will impose sentence on Alford in June, presided over his trial and sentencing in the 2009 case.

Alford's most recent scheme revolved around his attempt to obtain millions of dollars from wealthy former Florida Senate President Don Gaetz, using the money to rescue a CIA operative who disappeared in Iran in 2007 and utilizing the good will created by the high-profile rescue to broker a presidential pardon from Joe Biden for Don's son, Matt Gaetz.

The congressman, a Fort Walton Beach Republican, has been under federal investigation for more than a year based on allegations he had sex a 17-year-old girl. Gaetz also is reportedly being looked at for obstruction of justice and having dealings with other women who received drugs and/or money in violation of prostitution and sex trafficking laws.

Joel Greenberg, the former Seminole County tax collector and Gaetz associate, has pleaded guilty to sex trafficking in the case and is said to be cooperating with prosecutors in the Gaetz investigation.

No charges have been filed against Gaetz, and he points to Alford's attempt to extort money from his family as evidence the allegations against him are baseless.

The extortion plot actually became public for the first time when Matt Gaetz relayed a version of what had transpired on air to Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

In a March 2021 interview, he claimed Pensacola attorney David McGee and others, including Alford, attempted to extort $25 million from the Gaetz family and that Don Gaetz, a Niceville resident, wore a FBI wire to a meeting to discuss a $5.4 million down payment to allow federal agents to gather evidence about the conspiracy.

Soon after, in an exclusive interview with the Northwest Florida Daily News, Alford confirmed he had approached the Gaetz family.

He said he had embarked on a good will effort to rescue Robert Levinson, a CIA operative who disappeared in 2007 and is believed to have been kidnapped by agents of the government of Iran. Although most people presume Levinson to be dead, Alford claimed to have "proof of life" evidence he was alive.

Charging documents in the case against Alford say he "falsely reported" to a person, identified only as D.G., that in exchange for the money needed to rescue Levinson, "he would get that pardon" for D.G.'s family member and "Take D.G. by the hand to see the president of the United States."

"I have a plan that can make his future legal and political problems go away," a federal court document states, quoting a text message sent to the elder Gaetz. "Last summer we located Robert Levinson in Iran and took two proof of life videos, but the U.S. government foiled our rescue attempts."

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The text said that just one chance remained to rescue Levinson and "If you and (Matt Gaetz) are willing to help us privately and clandestinely obtain the release of Robert Levinson I will ensure that (Matt Gaetz) is on the plane that delivers Levinson to his family, thus making him the most sought after public figure in the world."

Alford was 62 at the time of his indictment and subsequent arrest in August of 2021. He was originally charged with wire fraud and attempting to prevent seizure of an electronic device.

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Stephen Alford sentencing for Gaetz family extortion charges postponed