South Florida Man Charged with Unlicensed Public Adjusting in 2022

Investigators with Florida’s Department of Financial Services last week charged a south Florida man with acting as a public adjuster without a license and defrauding policyholders of more than $34,000.

It’s the second time in 14 months Giorgio Giovanni Gonzalez has been charged with adjusting without a license, after he was suspended in 2013 for failing to carry a surety bond, according to DFS and court records.

DFS did not explain where Gonzalez performed the recent adjusting work, but noted that late last year the department received complaints that he had signed contracts with policyholders when he presented himself as a licensed adjuster in 2022. DFS said he worked for Maximum Claims Recovery Inc., although a state or local listing for the firm could not be found.

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

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

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

If convicted of the latest charges, he could face 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 adjusting and applauds all efforts of the Florida DFS to assure that only licensed public adjusters are allowed to assist consumers who have sustained first party property loss,” NAPIA General Counsel Brian Goodman said in a statement.

Topics Florida