SURFSIDE (AP) - Hundreds of bogus claims that sought a share of the $1.1 billion settlement in the deadly collapse of a Florida condominium building were ruled as fraudulent and invalid by a judge Wednesday.
More than 450 presumably false claims, most seeking about $50,000, were filed in the court settlement arising from the June 2021 collapse of the Champlain Towers South building in which 98 people died.
These claims “have no connection whatsoever” to the tragedy and appear to be “claims seeking to wrongfully capitalize on this tragedy at the expense of the true victims,” court-appointed receiver Michael Goldberg said in court documents.
During a brief hearing Wednesday, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman said none of the bogus claimants showed up to provide evidence under oath so their claims will be struck from the list of settlement beneficiaries.
“They had to submit the necessary documentation and they had to show up at the hearing,” the judge said.
The 457 false claims — out of 741 total — arrived mostly from western states, especially California, Oregon, Washington and Colorado, Goldberg said. They seem to be affiliated with a website called “hustlermoneyblog.com” that he said shows people how to file for damages in certain class-action settlements without providing proof.
The shaky claims from people insisting they were at the building and injured when it fell or owned units that suffered costly property losses were easily disproved with government records,...
"I will note that in 2024, troops were -- that was Joe Biden by the way, Joe Biden -- were deployed to polling locations in 15 states," Hegseth said April 29, 2026 before the House of Representati...