'Leader' of Florida 'Sex Money Murder' gang arrested after multi-year investigation

Leader of Florida 'sex, money and murder' gang arrested

In a joint press conference, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd and Attorney General James Uthmeier discussed steps taken to arrest Hernando Thompson, who is accused of leading a Florida gang. $1.5 million in drugs,18 firearms and ballistic armor were seized in the arrest. 

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - In a wiretap operation – a joint effort by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, state attorney’s office and the Polk County Sheriff’s office – authorities aimed to take down the Sex Money Murder hierarchy in Florida. 

They arrested Hernando Thompson, 40, who they said is the head of a Sex Money Murder gang in Florida. 

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd called Thompson "the man at the top of the pyramid." 

In the wiretap, they seized over 4,000 communications involving criminal conduct. 

"This is a bad man, and he needs to go to prison for a long time," Judd said. 

Thompson's criminal history includes 14 felony charges, 10 misdemeanors and four re-arrests. Some of his previous charges include burglary, aggravated assault, reckless driving, resisting arrest, carrying prohibited weapons and battery and/or domestic violence. 

Who is Hernando Thompson? 

Hernando Thompson, is the believed leader of the Sex Money Murder gang in Florida. 

Thompson was arrested in 2022, but Judd said he doesn't know if Thompson was in custody between 2022 and his trial date. In 2024, Thompson was a fugitive on previous charges, which means "they must have allowed him to post bail until he came up for his court date," Judd said. 

"I don't know who the harebrained judge was who let him out when he's facing racketeering, and he's the head of an organization, and he's got a violent past," the sheriff said. 

Now, Thompson is in custody and is facing 17 counts. 

Thompson is facing five lifetime sentences, Attorney General James Uthmeier said on the case. 

"We want him behind bars for the rest of his life," he said during a Jan. 12 press conference in Winter Haven. " … We'll be pushing to ensure that he does not have the opportunity to ever be released again."  

Uthmeier said they want to send the message that people who engage in this type of violence, who run drugs, guns and violent behavior into the community are "going to pay the price." 

"This was a bad dude, a violent guy, and we’re going to do what needs to be done to protect our community at all costs," Uthmeier said. 

The backstory:

In 2022, the sheriff's office announced its investigation into the 41 members and associates of the "Sex Money Murder" criminal gang enterprise. Thompson was identified as one of the suspects and was wanted for racketeering, conspiracy to racketeer and directing criminal gang activity. 

After serving six search warrants – through its investigation in Lakeland, Winter Haven, Mount Dora, Orlando and Lake City – authorities seized: 

• 21.45 Pounds of Methamphetamine 
• 2,595 grams of cocaine 
• 3,051 grams of cannabis 
• 249 grams of MDMA 
• 719 grams of Synthetic Cannabis 
• 7.86 grams of Fentanyl (one gram can kill hundreds) 
• 28 grams of Mushrooms 
• 8 grams of Alprazolam 
• 52 grams of Oxycodone 
• 1846 grams of Promethazine 
• 18 firearms
• $17,514.00 in US currency

The street value of the drug confiscated was over $1.5 million. 

Who is the Sex Money Murder gang? 

According to the sheriff's office, the Sex Money Murder gang is responsible for home invasion robberies, property crimes and violent crimes. Deputies first began investigating these robberies in late 2018. In one home invasion, Judd said the gang pointed a gun at an eight-year-old boy and at an infant and threatened them. 

Detectives worked with Florida Correction to identify inmates and confirm gang affiliation. 

"This is the kind of people these folks are," Judd said. 

The gang's original founder is serving life in federal prison. 

What's next:

Uthmeier said a lot of the Sex Money Murder gang has been dismantled, but authorities are still working on other leads.