Canton man sought, accused of taking $217K from client’s hurricane insurance claim
In the wake of Hurricane Michael, investigators say a Georgia man who was supposed to be handling an insurance claim for a business owner defrauded him out of $217,000. Now they are seeking information that could help them locate him.
Steven Eric Chastain, 58, of Canton, is wanted on two counts of theft by conversion after allegedly accepting checks from an insurance company but failing to pass them along to the client, according to Insurance Safety Fire Commissioner John F. King.
The business, which is based in Albany, suffered significant damage from Hurricane Michael in October 2018, King said. The owner said he hired Chastain, who owned Nationwide Public Adjusters, to handle his claim.
King said during the process, Chastain allegedly took multiple checks from the insurance company and never sent them to his client.
“The role of public adjusters is to look out for their client’s best interests in the filing and handling of a claim, not to line their own pockets,” King said. “My office will not stand for Georgians being taken advantage of, especially in times of desperate need like this.”
Anyone with information about Chastain’s whereabouts is asked to call King’s office at 404-463-6363.
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About the Author
Asia Simone Burns is a watchdog reporter for the AJC. Burns was formerly an intern in AJC’s newsroom and now writes about crime. She is a graduate of Samford University and has previously reported for NPR and WABE, Atlanta’s NPR member station.
