Before trucking deregulation, the Interstate Commerce Commission regulated household goods movers. Now, our putative "free state of Florida" does not do well at regulating corporations or protecting consumers. From Miami Herald:
Florida mover often accused of fraud and extortion hit with $60K judgment
No state agency has charged former Broward mover Shawn Thompson criminally, although at least two have been investigating Thompson after customer complaints alleging fraud and extortion. But, an Orange County court hit Thompson with a civil judgment in December just as a Miami-Dade court did a year earlier.
A final judgment from Orange County Judge Jeramy C. Beasley on Dec. 4 hits Thompson with $13,000 in basic damages, $39,000 in punitive damages and $430 in court costs — plus it awarded $7,720 in attorney’s fees to plaintiff Scott Meyer.
Backed by an estimate, invoices and Zelle transfer screenshots, Meyer’s lawsuit said Thompson’s Moving Giants gave Meyer an estimate of $669.50 for a 19-mile Orlando to Oveido move on July 11, 2023, then morphed it to $1,801 upon arrival at the Oveido location via unapproved new charges. The new invoice said Thompson and Thompson employee Renee Carter would hold Meyer’s property until he paid the inflated price.
Beasley’s judgment was a default judgment. Unlike the Miami-Dade case, in which Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Michael Barket said Thompson’s testimony showed him to be “a direct participant in this unfair, deceptive, and fraudulent scheme,” Thompson wasn’t deposed. He didn’t respond to the Orange County lawsuit in any way, court records show.
The process server appointed by Broward Sheriff’s Office said in court documents that Thompson even gave the false name of “Sam Smith” when being served at 6742 NW 17th Ave., the address of several of Thompson’s companies at the time.
However, the process server ran the license tags in the parking lot and found the dark Mercedes SUV with Florida tag 42D MHC was registered to “Shawn Eyon David Thompson.” A driver’s license photo lookup confirmed the 5-11, 250-pound “Sam Smith” was Thompson.
When a Herald reporter asked about this judgment Wednesday via text message, Thompson replied with three texts that accused the Herald of violating his civil rights by contacting him and putting the number he uses for Thompson Nation & Affiliates in an article.
“This is your final warning,” Thompson wrote. “I am not like all these bull ---- stories you write just to try to get a name for yourself without facts and these people you write fall stories about is reaching out to me to file a suit against you for lies. All your stories have no merit or truth to it. Write one more lies about me and I’ll see you in court.”
Requests from Tallahassee
A Jacksonville resident who said a Thompson company pulled a sudden cost increase extortion on him during a move from Fort Lauderdale forwarded the Herald an Oct. 16, 2023 email he received from Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Chief of Mediation and Enforcement W. Alan Parkinson that said:
“...we’ve received 98 complaints since the beginning of 2022 against Thompson Nation Holdings LLC. We have referred a case to our Investigative Section for review based upon the complaints we’ve received.”
FDACS has yet to act against Thompson, but Miami-Dade online court records say the state agency’s general counsel office requested certified copies of the Miami-Dade case’s final judgment; the permanent injunction against Thompson, Thompson Nation Holdings and Small Move Movers that says, in short, any repeat of the fraudulent behavior will be considered contempt of court; and the deposition of Nicollette Gonzalez.
Gonzalez filed the Miami-Dade suit after she didn’t pay $3,243 of extra charges for a Miami-to-Gainesville move and Thompson hid her furniture and clothes. The judgment awarded her $7,619 plus attorney’s fees.
Interstate shenanigans?
Meyer and Gonzalez’s lawsuits describe a bait-and-extort schemedescribed on a Reddit page devoted to Thompson; described on Better Business Bureau pages of Thompson-connected moving businesses such as Fresh Start Moving & Storage, One Man, One Van and others; on other mover review sites; and Charlene, 61, and Leroy Clayborne, 75, a married couple who moved from Palm Coast to Aiken, South Carolina.
Charlene Clayborne wrote in a Sept. 12 letter they used Green Go Movers, one of the Thompson-related companies now based out of the 2814 Silver Star Rd. Orlando office used by Thompson Nation Holdings, Thompson Nation & Affiliates and other Thompson companies.
A Sept. 12 letter to Miami-Dade Judge Michael Barket, the last entry on the Gonzalez online case docket, says a quote of $5,000 turned into a final invoice of $20,131 after the Clayborne’s house was packed. Then, according to Charlene Clayborne, Green Go demanded $14,000 before they would roll off the property. They accepted a “good faith” payment of $1,500, part of which was a $1,000 Zelle payment to Shawn Thompson at travel.payprelo©gmail.com that Wells Fargo flagged as fraudulent.
Clayborne wrote, “I explained that WF flagged the transaction as being fraudulent and [Alexis] stated that was because it was a new account.”
“Alexis” also told Clayborne, the customer said, that $6,131 in cash would be due on arrival or the possessions wouldn’t be unpacked. Clayborne said a “Bobby” called from Green Go the morning the truck arrived in Aiken, claiming they now owed $8,434. Clayborne said after the movers arrived, she told them she was going to the bank for money orders.
“Damian was upset by this as he was expecting cash. l told him to contact the office,” Clayborne wrote. “I left my house, parked at the top of the hill and called the sheriff’s office. They arrived approximately 20 minutes later. After reviewing our contract and proof of payment, the movers were ordered to give us our belongings or be arrested for larceny and their trucks be impounded.
“l should mention that the movers arrived with a U-Haul truck and a Penske truck and only two people, one driver each. They literally tossed our things in the garage and then the driveway causing lots of damage. We took a video of them unpacking the trucks.”
A search of the U.S. Department of Transportation site doesn’t turn up Green Go Movers as a licensed interstate mover. USDOT No. 4176294, which is associated with Green Go Moving on another site, comes up as Thompson company Today’s Move Movers, which does business as Two Men One Truck Movers, ph. no. 863-231-4582.
Neither is licensed to move anyone from Florida to South Carolina.
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