Eaton Fire Victims Sue Insurance Adjuster Over Payouts

The California Department of Insurance has accused an Encino-based insurance adjuster of stealing insurance funds from Eaton fire victims and other residents looking to repair their homes.

The department has filed a lawsuit against Aleksandr Guldshtadt and his wife, Evghenia Gaiju, for allegedly submitting false insurance claims, pocketing funds meant for clients and not completing repairs for more than a dozen people, including two Eaton fire victims, the Los Angeles Daily News reported.

The state insurance regulator seeks tens of thousands of dollars in penalties against Guldshtadt and his company, Nationwide Insurance Claims Advocates.

It also seeks to reject a license application from Gaiju, claiming she “aided and abetted” Guldshtadt’s alleged fraud. A hearing to revoke Guldshtadt’s license is set for next month.

Among them: a Pasadena woman accused the adjuster of filing a $215,865 claim that included “removing creosote from a chimney that does not exist.” Her insurer estimated the job would cost $15,000.

Guldshtadt controlled NICA while being financially involved with at least three of the contractors hired using client insurance funds, according to the state complaint.

The state accused him of violating a law barring an insurance adjuster from having any financial interest in companies that do business related to an insurance claim handled by the adjuster.

The Department of Insurance claims Guldshtadt also had his hands in Evolve Construction & Restoration, CalMaster Restoration and WD Contractor Services, which either received contractor licenses issued to Guldshtadt or noted him as having at least 10 percent ownership.

One firm was registered in his mother-in-law’s name and two used the same address as NICA.

The state interviewed a total of 15 alleged victims from San Francisco, Bakersfield, Long Beach, Altadena and Pasadena over a five-year period. Several of those affected say they contracted NICA or one of the other companies to repair roofs or water leaks, only for them to stop responding after workers tore apart kitchens and walls.

The investigation comes after Altadena resident and Eaton fire victim Nadine Isenberg filed a class-action suit. Her attorney, Brett Moore, believes NICA defrauded between 40 and 100 other victims across California, and possibly the country.

“There are multiple victims; it is not just from the Eaton fire,” Moore said. “He owns Evolve, he owns Nationwide Insurance Claim Advocates, he owns the people who do the testing. So all of the money that insurance pays out goes to him, goes into his pocket.”

Guldshtadt denied any of the claims made by the state and former clients.

“There is not a single victim that lost any money due to our work,” Guldshtadt told the Daily News. He called the class action complaint “absolutely nonsense litigation.”

As for the few Eaton fire victims who were allegedly bilked, he explained that NICA only dealt with three clients related to the disaster and is “not doing much work on the fires at all.”

He also denied association with any companies tied to the fraud. “I don’t own those companies myself,” Guldshtadt told the newspaper. “The [same] address doesn’t mean that I own the company.”

— Chris Malone Méndez