Cleveland businessman pleads to defrauding property damage victims
CLEVELAND, Tennessee (WDEF) – A local man has pleaded guilty in a mail fraud scheme taking money from both homeowners and their insurance companies.
54 year old Benjamin Reichel entered his guilty plea in federal court.
Prosecutors say he operated Loss Recovery Specialists in Cleveland, which claimed to file insurance claims for people who had suffered property damage.
The scheme in question ran March of 2018 to June of 2019.
Prosecutors say Reichel charged the property owners for repairs and put the money in a trust account until the insurance paid off.
They say he then misused the funds in the account for personal and improper professional expenses.
Reichel agreed in his plea that the government could prove losses in the ragne between $550,000 and $1,500,000.
He has agreed to forfeit money and his home in Council Fire in Catoosa County as part of the settlement.
Reichel could get additional jail time when sentenced next spring.
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CURRENT ALERTS FOR THIS BUSINESS
Upon updating licenses for Loss Recovery Specialists, LLC and Fernandez Roofing & Restoration, BBB noted they are the same family.
Typically, that would not be a red flag. However, one business; Loss Recovery Specialists, LLC, is a licensed public adjuster (William W. Reichel) through TN Dept of Commerce and Insurance. Agent name listed on this LLC is Maria Victoria Fernandez Reichel
The second company, Fernandez Roofing and Restoration, is a Home Improvement Contractor
in TN owned by Maria Reichel.
Ben Reichel owns Loss Recovery Specialists, LLC and manages Fernandez Roofing and Restoration.
He utilizes his Public Adjuster License to evaluate damage and submit insurance claims, then most likely bids the job or assigns the job to his wife’s company, Fernandez Roofing and Restoration, for bidding.
On the surface, this practice may not sound questionable….a company providing the entire service from start to finish could be considered convenient. However, these two companies, operating under the same
umbrella, could very easily be tempted to set prices higher than industry standards. They might also be tempted to embellish information in their inspection report, leading an insurance company to believe a home
has sustained more damage than it actually has.
This company and its contractor partner, Fernandez Roofing, are not responding to filed complaints with BBB. A pattern of complaints appear that payments have been made for roofing new/repair and no install has been made by Fernandez. BBB is currently investigating both company’s; Loss Recovery Specialist, LLC and Fernandez Roofing and Restoration
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