PALM HARBOR, Fla. -- As the owner of Epic Salon on U.S. 19 in Palm Harbor, Kalli Cora never thought she'd be solicited by a customer and urged to file a claim through him to get paid for supposed damages from last year's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
"I never thought I'd be affected by the oil spill. So I just thought it was kind of weird," she says. "He was kind of like, 'Have you lost money in the past year?' I said, 'Yeah, everyone's lost money from the economy.'"
According to Cora, he said those losses may actually be from the oil spill, and told her to apply for money from the Gulf Coast Claims Facility before her salon loses seasonal customers.
"He was just really jumpy about it, trying to get people. I mean, he went all around the salon trying to get people to fill out these forms," she says.
What really made her suspicious? He solicited personal information, including her Social Security number. Several businesses along U.S. 19, from her hair salon to even a car dealership, say they were approached by this man and told that he was a claims specialist working on behalf of Stout Law Group in Clearwater. In at least one case, the man provided a copy of a contract from Stout Law Group.
Though a representative from the firm would not talk on-camera, he told 10 News that they do know the man and that he has worked in the capacity of a claims specialist in the past. However, that representative calls the man's door-to-door approach "overzealous," and says they're looking into what happened.
Until 2013, businesses and individuals who feel they've been impacted by the oil spill can apply for damage reimbursement through the Gulf Coast Claims Facility. They do not need a lawyer to do this, though they can hire one to make the process easier, or call 855-299-1337 to request free legal help.