William Eddins, State Attorney for the First Judicial Circuit, announced today that Jeffery Todd Crystal has been sentenced to 30 years prison after his conviction for Grand Theft over $100,000 and Issuing a Worthless Check.
Crystal was convicted after a jury trial in October. The charges arose from an incident which occurred in June of 2011 where Crystal made fraudulent representations to obtain possession of a vehicle from Porsche of Destin. Crystal presented a check for $109,000 to the dealership and was given possession of the vehicle. The check was returned for insufficient funds. Crystal continued to make false statements to the dealership concerning the transfer of funds to cover the check. Further investigation revealed that Crystal never had more than $68.00 in his account at the time the check was presented. Crystal put more than 2,000 miles on the vehicle before it was recovered.
Crystal’s prior record dated back to the early 1980’s and included multiple prison sentences of crimes of fraud, theft and dishonesty. He still faces violation of probation charges from Pinellas County for the same types of offenses. The 30 year prison sentence was the statutory maximum permitted by law Circuit Court Judge William Stone imposed the sentence. The case was investigated by the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant State Attorney Stephen Bernhardt handled the prosecution.
Any questions can be directed to Assistant State Attorney Stephen Bernhardt at (850)651-7260.
