Another judgment against a Broward mover accused of another fraud and extortion

An Orange County Court entered a judgment Tuesday against a Fort Lauderdale area mover accused of hiding a customer’s possessions until the customer paid $1,100 of fraudulent costs added to the estimate.

That description fits the scam Shawn Thompson ran on a Miami woman, an extortion that got Thompson excoriated by Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Barket in a December summary judgment. Barket pointed to Thompson’s deposition to say Thompson was a “direct participant” in an “unfair, deceptive, and fraudulent scheme.”

READ MORE: Mover added $3,000 of fraudulent charges, then hid a Miami woman’s furniture, clothes

This time, Thompson didn’t get deposed. He didn’t even answer the Nov. 6 lawsuit. In trying to act as if the lawsuit didn’t exist, the process server said in court documents, Thompson tried to act as if he didn’t exist. He lied to hide from being served.

Following his failure to answer, the Orange County Clerk of the Court entered a default judgment against Thompson, Thompson employee Renee Carter, and Thompson Nation Holdings doing business as Moving Giants.

Now, Jacksonville attorney George Brew, handling the lawsuit for plaintiff Scott Meyer, hopes to get an injunction for the return of Meyer’s goods among other legal relief. Refusal of that injunction would be considered contempt of court, a criminal act.

Miami Herald messages left for the 42-year-old Thompson haven’t been returned.

How does a $669 became an $1,801 move 19 miles later?

Needing to move things from an Orlando storage unit to an Oviedo storage unit 19 miles away, the lawsuit says, Meyer got drawn to Moving Giants by an advertisement claiming he could expect “clarity in all areas of our operations ... Any unexpected and additional expenses must be pre-approved by you.”

Invoices, an estimate and Zelle transfer screenshots included with the lawsuit say Meyer got an estimate of $669.50 and paid $275 directly to Shawn Thompson the day before the July 11 move. According to the estimate, Moving Giants expected to move two queen size beds, two dressers, a four-drawer file cabinet, one medium-sized tent and 25 boxes.

The lawsuit said that July 10 estimate didn’t match what Moving Giants movers told Meyer on July 11 when they got to 2308 N. John Young Parkway.

Suddenly, the beds were among other items that would mean added costs. Meyer had to keep them from bubble-wrapping items he didn’t feel needed it. The movers also “insisted upon taking items that were already contained within boxes and placing them in additional boxes.”

The lawsuit said Meyer wasn’t told about any tack-on charges, he didn’t approve any, nor was he asked to approve any. He sent Shawn Thompson another $275 via Zelle at loading, for a total of $550. But when the movers got to 3651 Alafaya Trail in Oveido, Meyer received an invoice that said his total cost now was $1,801.25, so he still owed $1251.25.

With the invoice came the warning to Meyer that “his property would be held by (Thompson and Carter) and not released until the full invoice amount created by (Thompson and Carter) was paid.”

A check of state records shows Thompson Nation Holdings existed until Sept. 23, when Shawn Thompson and Junior Thompson failed to file the necessary paperwork. “Moving Giants LLC” never has been registered to do business in Florida.

Shawn Thompson, Sam Smith, Sherwin-Williams and Mercedes

What follows comes from the comments by the process server appointed by the Broward Sheriff’s Office.

The process server showed up at 6742 NW 17th Ave. in Fort Lauderdale, an address used by many Thompson businesses, around 11:25 a.m. on Nov. 20. A woman greeted him but went back inside upon hearing the process server had court papers for Renee Carter and Shawn Thompson.

Out came a 5-foot-11, 250-pound male who claimed Carter and Thompson were in Orlando. Asked for an address, the man went inside and came back out with “2814 Silver Star RD, Ste. 219, Orlando, FL 32804” on a slip of paper. Upon request, he gave told the process server the name “Sam” and clarified “like ‘Sam I am.’” He gave the last name “Smith.”

The process server returned to his car for a little research. Google said that Orlando address housed a Sherwin-Williams paint store as well as a place for cremation equipment. Searching databases for “Shawn Thompson” turned up numerous results. But checking the license tags in the parking lot got a hit on the first car — a dark, Mercedes SUV truck, Florida tag 42DMHC was registered to “Shawn Eyon David Thompson.”

A photo of Shawn Eyon David Thompson’s driver’s license “confirmed that Mr. Sam Smith lied about his identity and he is Mr. Shawn Thompson who I am attempting to serve,” the process server wrote.

At the door, Thompson “still tried to deny it and said he has an attorney and his attorney told him not to accept service and that he would not be signing anything,” the process server said. “I advised him he had lied already, and I am uninterested about his attorney; if he refuses to accept, it will be drop service. He said I can’t drop serve him so I placed the documents at the entrance to the business and advised him he has just been serviced via drop service.”