POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A Polk County attorney is accused of stealing millions of dollars while draining people's life savings, including his own, to gamble at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Tampa.
Jason Penrod, 47, is the owner of Family Elder Law Firm in Lake Wales. He was arrested on Wednesday evening as an investigation is underway into him allegedly stealing more than $1.7 million from the trust of a Polk County resident who has since passed.
In that case, Penrod is accused of diverting the money from his client's trust into his personal bank account. He then wired that money to the Hard Rock over the course of three months to gamble.
The money came from David Anderson, who established the trust in 2014 and listed his adult children as the sole beneficiaries of his estate. He died in October 2021.
David Anderson's children, Sherry Prevoznik and Charles Anderson, live in Pennsylvania. They first filed their complaint against Penrod on Aug. 2 with the Pennsylvania State Police.
During law enforcement's investigation, it was determined that Penrod actually flew to Pennsylvania to "confess his theft." He gave Charles Anderson and Prevoznik a letter, claiming "he was dealing with mental and personal stress and to cope he would frequently gamble," according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
Authorities say Penrod admitted to exhausting his family's savings as well as his law firm's profits. Then, from Oct. 2023 to Jan. 2024, he started taking money from David Anderson's trust.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd held a press conference Thursday to detail Penrod's arrest. Penrod told investigators that his gambling addiction was a "compulsion" that "overcame" him, Judd said.
Judd added that Penrod claimed he was borrowing the money from the trust as a "temporary loan" and that he considered suing the Hard Rock for letting him gamble there in the first place.
"He's got about five brain cells and three of them he left at the Hard Rock," Judd said, adding that Penrod only has $36 left to his name.
While Judd explained that Penrod's arrest is connected to the complaint made by David Anderson's children, he also said that he's likely connected to other cases. Combined, Judd believes Penrod may have stolen approximately $4 million in total.
Two other complaints have been filed against Penrod. Those complaints remain under investigation while authorities wait for bank records.
Detectives have been able to confirm that Penrod has lost more than $1.7 million at the Hard Rock and bank records show the money transfers into his account, then to the Hard Rock, a press release states.
"The worst kind of criminal is the one that hides behind a coat and a tie and steals money with a law license or a professional license of any kind," Judd said.
An investigation into Penrod remains underway.