After Hurricane Ian barreled through the Gulf Coast in 2022, Carla Dickey was among the hundreds of thousands of people who filed insurance claims for storm damage.
But she had concerns with her insurance company from the beginning.
“I felt like I was not going to get the money I deserved to fix my house properly,” Dickey explained.
So, she hired Francisco Chaparro, the owner of All Elements Public Adjusters, to help her. She signed a contract agreeing to pay him 10% of her claim payout.
“I had high hopes, and I felt like they were going to handle it for me,” she recalled.
It went well at first. Dickey received some insurance money to replace the roof on her Lehigh Acres home and received money to buy supplies to fix her floor.
After that, she said she was told Chaparro was fighting for more money and that they were in litigation with the insurance company.
But months went by without any major updates. Then, last summer, Dickey was stunned to discover that Chaparro had been arrested.
He was charged with three felonies after state investigators said he failed to forward another homeowner more than $100,000 he received from her insurance company.
The victim in that criminal case is a 68-year-old widow.
The court case is ongoing.
“You just don't do this to somebody. You don't steal from people like this,” Dickey said.
The arrest prompted Dickey to contact her insurance company and get copies of all the checks they’d paid out for her claim.
She said the last two, worth more than $30,000, she never received.
“Completely betrayed, lied to, stolen from,” Dickey described feeling at the time. “I don't need the money for my personal self. I need the money to fix my house."
She filed a report with the Florida Department of Financial Services, which is leading the investigation into Chaparro.
“This is an open and ongoing investigation," a spokesperson for the agency wrote to Gulf Coast News. "The arrest was made based on an initial victim’s report that a public adjuster failed to forward insurance claim funds."
“Since then, additional victims — primarily from Florida’s west coast — have come forward with similar allegations involving the same individual, all related to claims filed after Hurricane Ian," the spokesperson added. "The subject is believed to have operated in multiple areas of the state following the storm.”
“When people have these losses, they're reaching for anything,” insurance agent Jeff East told Gulf Coast News. “So the first person that reaches out to say I can help you is generally what people will gravitate towards. But it's not necessarily always there truly to help them."
East is not involved in Dickey’s case, but shared advice for homeowners thinking about hiring a public adjuster.
“It is going to cost money. It could delay the process a little bit,” he explained. “I would say give the insurance company a chance. You can always go back and get an adjuster."
It’s also important to make sure your public adjuster is licensed and reputable, East said. There are good ones who can and will help, but you need to make sure you find one.
“There are always going to be adjusters that come in during major storms simply because we don't have the manpower to handle claims in a timely manner,” East explained. “That being said, as quickly as they come in, they can leave just as quickly."
Dickey is sharing her story in hopes it doesn’t happen to someone else. Still now, the flooring she bought sits in her living room, yet to be installed, as she waits for money that may never come.
“I feel like I'm never going to get my house fixed,” she said. “That's what I feel like. I'm never going to get my house fixed. And I don't want anybody to ever have to go through that."
Gulf Coast News reached out to Chaparro and his attorney to ask about Dickey and the other victims who have come forward to state investigators, beyond the ongoing criminal case.
"We have no reason to believe any charges are forthcoming,” Kahn Kassegn, Chaparro’s attorney, wrote in an email to Gulf Coast News. “The Florida Department of Financial Services has not presented us with any evidence of these allegations against Mr. Chaparro. We will vigorously defend our client, and I am convinced the public will be swayed by the evidence that will be presented."
The Florida Department of Financial Services advises homeowners of certain remin ders when hiring a public adjuster.
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