dedicated to getting results a PI team
[Music]
the news for Jack's i-team is
investigating one of Florida's most
controversial insurance practices an
agreement between a homeowner and a
contractor that actually strips
Floridians of their rights it is called
an assignment of benefits agreement and
once it's signed it transfers the rights
and benefits of a homeowner's insurance
claim to a third party news for Jack's
i-team investigator Tarek miner is here
to show us how the state's chief
financial officer says a loophole in
state law is riddled with fraud Tarek
that's correct the assignment of
benefits or the AOB is a document that
you may be asked to sign when a
contractor like a roofer proposes to do
work at your house contractors say
assigning them your benefits help them
to come quickly complete the job without
involving you further but Jimmy Patronus
the state's chief financial officer says
the AOB exposes Floridians to criminal
deception this is another tree that had
fallen if you can see this it's quite
sizable and actually was they had landed
on the home those branches came down and
hit my master bedroom roof I had a hole
about six inches in diameter there two
Florida homeowners who both say they
fell victim to the same roofing company
Maria Rodgers on the left and Eddie
Albert on the right both say they felt
helpless
since the assignment of benefits or EOB
was signed it's heartbreaking because
you you pay your premiums you expect
people to do good you want people to do
good and this is how they repay you you
know I've got a leaky roof I've got mold
in my ceiling my office wall my my rep
my bathroom and I can't fix it myself
without breaking the contract Marine
Corps veteran Eddie Albert told state
investigators that his insurance company
wrote Roofing Contractor Kinnick or LLC
a nine thousand dollar check in May of
2018 Kinnick or cash to check the next
day and was able to deposit without
Albert's signature he says can occur
also build his insurance an additional
forty five hundred dollars for a mold
inspection that was never approved half
a year later the mold is still here his
real
hasn't been touched and is legally bound
by the AOB agreement right now I mean
I've found another roofer the roofers
said he could have the roof on before
Christmas
and I can't really do that because the
AOB states if I break the contract from
my end I have to pay them 20% of the
total claim not just the claim for the
first roof or $5,000 whichever is higher
the owner of Kinnick or Roger van Gogh
Bosch was arrested just days ago charged
with five felonies including insurance
fraud forgery and grand theft state
fraud investigators say he's defrauded
clients out of more than $50,000 by
taking payments including money from
insurance companies and not doing the
work Maria Rodgers also went to state
investigators saying her family is a
victim of Kenna core she says the
signature on an AOB form does not match
the signature of her 89 year old mother
who neither roofing repairs after
Hurricane Erla to my knowledge it was
not signed by my mother no Roger says
Kenna Corps cashed her mother's $5,700
check last year and never returned to
start the roof replacement her message
to consumers about signing an AOB is
simple don't do it it leaves the
homeowners and businesses and consumers
out of the loop they don't have any
control of what's happening Florida
chief financial officer Jimmy Patronus
says the solution for Florida homeowners
must come in the form of new legislation
these guys have found a loophole in the
AOB process they're being able to take
advantage of homeowners and this is the
worst type of crime you're literally
you're you're stealing and take
advantage of people when they're at
their most vulnerable time of their
lives
it's a it's a sad state of environment
we're in right now when it comes to this
now we just found out from the CFO's
office that because they've opened up a
case against Roger van de Bosch at the
state level the two customers that we
interviewed can hire other contractors
now to repair their roofs and they'll be
free from the AOB contract also this
afternoon we learned that the city's
construction trades qualifying board has
placed Roger van
Bosh's roofing license now into an
inactive status yesterday was active
we've reached out to the city to find
out what has now led to that change for
the i-team I'm Tariq minor