South Florida man charged with unlicensed public adjustment in 2022

Investigators with the Florida Department of Financial Services last week charged a South Florida man with acting as an unlicensed public adjuster and defrauding policyholders of more than $34,000.

It’s the second time in 14 months that Giorgio Giovanni Gonzalez has been charged with adjusting without a license, after he was suspended in 2013 for not having a bond, according to DFS and court records.

DFS did not say where Gonzalez did the recent adjustment work, but noted that late last year, the department received complaints that he signed contracts with policyholders when he presented himself as a licensed adjuster in 2022. DFS said he worked for Maximum Claims Recovery Inc. , although no state or local listing could be found for the firm.

Gonzalez filed claims with at least three property insurance companies. In one case, he failed to remit the proceeds to the insured. In another, the check to the homeowner bounced, DFS said.

“As a result of the fraudulent, unethical and dishonest acts of the insurance industry, Giorgio Giovanni Gonzalez received a total of $44,903 while acting as an unlicensed public adjuster and failed to remit to policyholders approximately $34,424 of the claim monies insurance”, DFS bulletin. read.

Giovanni’s license was suspended in 2013, records show. In 2023, he was arrested in Miami on charges of acting as a public adjuster and theft. Court records show he avoided a conviction by agreeing to a diversion program before trial.

If convicted of the latest charges, he faces up to 30 years in prison. Gonzalez could not be reached at a phone number listed for him on the DFS license page.

The National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters praised the arrest. “NAPIA believes in the ethical practice of public insurance adjusters and applauds all efforts by the Florida DFS to ensure that only licensed public adjusters are allowed to assist consumers who have suffered property losses,” said NAPIA General Counsel Brian Goodman. in a statement.

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