Two years ago, in May of 2023, a circuit court judge in Lee County, Florida, sharply criticize
d a restoration contractor, accusing him of concealing the true cost of condominium roof work in an assignment-of-benefits claim with Tower Hill insurance.
Six months later, the state Department of Financial Services and local prosecutors brought criminal fraud charges against the contractor, Ricky McGraw, of South
Florida Restoration Services, charging him with insurance fraud and grand theft. Florida’s chief financial officer at the time, Jimmy Patronis, now a Congressman, called
the alleged fraud “despicable” and a reason behind rising premiums in the state.
Last week, just before the McGraw case was set to go to trial, it was dismissed. The move has left some property insurance carriers and their advocates frustrated
that the man who had been called the “poster boy” for questionable claim amounts—and for hundreds of AOB lawsuits against insurers—will not see jail time.
McGraw
A Jan. 26 nolle prosequi court filing by Lee County Assistant State Attorney John Hu
ped after two years of evidence gathering and dozens of court filings. A spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office said it was due to a lack of evidence, according to a local news report.
Insurance representatives in the state declined to comment due to other pending civil suits involving McGraw and his Stuart, Florida-based SFR. Tower Hill of
ficials could not be reached Sunday, but some in the industry speculated that some people with the subject condominium association may no longer be available for testimony.
“Criminal case is over for lack of evidence. Enough said,” McGraw said in an email to Insuranc
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e Journal. “The witch hunt is over.”
McGraw told the Tampa Bay Times that the prosecution has ruined his construction company.
“Two and a half years of my life has essentially put my company in the dumps, and they don’t even send out an apology letter,” McGraw told the Times.
If true, the SFR financial problems could be some comfort to Florida property insurers and coul
d be seen as another win against contractors who reportedly took advantage of the state’s assignment-of-benefits law in the 2010s and early 2020s. That law w
as repealed in late 2022, along with one-way attorney fees. Insurance groups and regulators have credited the changes and 2023 tort-reform measures with disincentiv
izing fraudulent and exaggerated claims and excessive claims litigation, helping to revitalize a Florida insurance market that was in deep distress.
But much litigation continues to work its way through the courts. That includes several insurer suits filed against McGraw and SFR.
In Martin County, for example, Tower Hill’s group of insurance companies early in 2025 fi
led civil lawsuits against SFR Services, charging the company with misleading homeowners after Hurricane Irma in order to gain assignments of benefits.