A Georgia prison inmate has been sentenced to eight years in Florida state prison after orchestrating a scam that sold fake hunting leases to sportsmen across 15 Florida counties, state wildlife officials announced.
Rodney E. Smith, 39, of Georgia, pleaded guilty to four felony charges tied to fraud and cheating following an investigation by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
According to state investigators, Smith ran the scheme between July 1, 2025, and April 30, 2026, while serving time behind bars in a Georgia correctional facility. Smith negotiated lease terms and collected deposits from multiple victims, cheating Florida hunters out of thousands of dollars for access rights to private land he had no authority to offer…