BREAKING: Former Key West Building Official Surrenders Again, Two Days After Indictment in Expanding ‘Bubba Bozo’ Probe
Ramsingh turned himself in Friday morning—48 hours after a second grand jury indictment—as the FBI–State Attorney corruption probe expands into the most serious City Hall scandal in 50 years.
Former Key West Chief Building Official Rajindhar “Raj” Ramsingh surrendered at the Monroe County Detention Center on Friday, two days after a Monroe County grand jury indicted him and plumbing contractor George Beys in an alleged $50,000 organized-fraud scheme.
The surrender comes amid a corruption scandal that has rocked City Hall with the most serious criminal allegations in more than 50 years dating back to the disappearance of KWFD Chief Joseph “Bum” Farto.
Ramsingh is charged with conspiracy to commit organized fraud and organized fraud, both first-degree felonies subject to enhancement depending on the status of the victims and findings in the ongoing investigation.
According to the indictment, between April 2 and June 2, 2024, Ramsingh and Beys carried out a “systematic, ongoing course of conduct” to defraud one or more victims or obtain money, services or property through false or fraudulent representations. Prosecutors allege the pair obtained more than $50,000, triggering Florida’s highest felony threshold for organized fraud.
Earlier indictments against Ramsingh; his brother, former City Attorney Ron Ramsingh; and former Code Enforcement Director Jim Young signaled the beginning of what investigators describe as a broad pattern of misconduct inside the city’s building, permitting and enforcement operations.
The newly impaneled grand jury took less than three days to issue the latest indictments in the widening probe — known locally as the Bubba Bozo Trio scandal — which is being conducted jointly by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Monroe County State Attorney’s Office.
It is the second grand jury to indict Ramsingh for crimes prosecutors say were committed while he served as chief building official and operated his own construction contracting and inspection firm within city limits. The investigation remains ongoing, and additional charges are possible.
Beys was taken into custody at his Bertha Street business on Wednesday, just hours after the indictment was filed. He was subsequently released with bail set at a total of $50,000 for both counts.
As of Friday afternoon, Ramsingh’s custody status remained unavailable because both the website and mobile app of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office were experiencing outages, preventing public access to jail records. However, because Ramsingh is under pretrial supervision, he has previously surrendered for booking, then released several hours later.
Under Florida law, organized fraud involving $50,000 or more is a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison. If the victims are elderly, minors or disabled, statutory reclassification can elevate the charge to a life felony, dramatically increasing potential exposure.
Both men are scheduled for arraignment on Dec. 5 at 8:45 a.m. before Judge Mark Jones.
This is a developing story and will be updated. Watch this space.