Hurricane Katrina Fraud Case: Head of Palos Verdes Company Turns Self In
Two men accused of money laundering and stealing thousands of dollars from hurricane Katrina victims have turned themselves in to authorities. Steve Slepcevic and Matthew Todd, former business partners, are accused of stealing funds from these victims. A third man is likely to turn himself in.
The men are accused of stealing more than $320,000 from victims. Slepcevic is the founder of Paramount Disaster Recovery Inc. Although he eluded authorities for days, he turned himself in, in a 7Series BMW. Todd was arrested in California and is awaiting extradition to Louisiana. A third man, Michael Mekeel, has agreed to turn himself in.
The men are believed to have forged checks and steal insurance proceeds from the hurricane victims. Slepcevic is also being charged with four counts of money laundering. The men were arrested after a Times investigation showed numerous fraud complaints.
The third man, Mekeel, claims he worked as a subcontractor for Paramount and never received payment. He also claims he reported the company to the FBI and warned clients about the company.
In one claim against Slepcevic, an affidavit states that he stole insurance proceeds, threw a lavish party and then purchased a $1.6 million home in Redondo Beach, all within just six months of Hurricane Katrina. Two homeowners filed the case in Louisiana and two hotel owners who claim to have hired the Paramount Company after the hurricane. The company claimed to be a disaster recovery company that would work to negotiate settlements with the insurance companies on behalf of the claimants, for a 20 percent fee. The company employees are accused of taking the checks issued by insurance companies, forging client names and then depositing the funds in the company's accounts in California.
The California attorney general's office is also seeing $170,000 on top of all of the fraudulent charges for a 2007 settlement between the company and the California Department of Insurance. In that situation, Paramount, including Todd and Slepcevic represented themselves as public adjusters for the victims of the Angora fires in South Lake Tahoe. Five additional complaints are pending in that investigation.
