05/23/2022 | Press release | Archived content
Attorney General Moody Secures More Than $20 Million Judgment and a Lifetime Industry Ban Against Deceptive Moving Businesses
The defendants falsely advertised the companies as professional, cross-country moving services performed by well-trained employees in company-owned trucks, when in fact, untrained contractors using rented box trucks provided the moving services, and the delivery services were outsourced to third parties unknown to the consumer. The defendants guaranteed prices to consumers, only to then drastically raise prices on moving day after loading possessions onto trucks. Consumers often had to wait many weeks past the promised delivery date to receive belongings. To further the scheme, the businesses used many fictitious names that appeared deceptively similar to widely known national moving companies. Guzi personally used at least six different aliases.
Attorney General Ashley Moody said, "This wide-ranging, deceptive moving scheme victimized people all over the United States, including many here in Florida, by adding excessive charges to the quoted price, advertising professional moving services that the movers did not provide, falsely promising secure handling of household goods and hiding bad reviews by using a variety of misleading company names. I am grateful to my Consumer Protection team for putting a stop to these outrageous practices and holding moving companies accountable."
After a week-long trial, Circuit Judge Carol-Lisa Phillips in Broward County found the defendants engaged in many deceptive practices, including the following:
The defendants operated using fictitious names that include, among others: Interstate Movers and Moving Group; Interstate Movers; Nationwide Movers System, Affordable Movers, Dispatch My Move; Moving Group System, USA Movers-Interstate Movers; United Moving & Relocation; Affordable Movers, Cross Country Movers, Long Distance Movers, Household Van Lines, Nationwide Movers-Long Distance Movers, Nationwide Moving Services-Long Distance Movers and Nationwide Moving Services.
Trial attorneys for Attorney General Moody's office for this case include Assistant Attorneys General Sasha Funk Granai, Ellen Lyons, Jennifer Pinder and Carol DeGraffenreidt. The following agencies assisted the Attorney General's Office in this matter: the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which regulates household goods moving carriers at the federal level, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which regulates intrastate moves, and the Better Business Bureau.
To read the trial order and final judgment, click here.