MIAMI — An Oregon man claims he drove across the country to vacation in Miami Beach and met a kindly stranger named Luis at a bar who suggested that instead of sleeping in his car the man stay with a friend at Champlain Towers South in Surfside. They went to the condo and after just one minute of waiting outside, the man heard a loud boom, got hit in the head by a falling chunk of concrete and blacked out.
When he woke up, he was lying next to the rubble of the 12-story building that had collapsed. Shocked, and fearing he would be billed for any medical treatment of his bloody gash, the man left the scene where 98 people died and drove back to Oregon. He has never told anyone his terrifying story until now, as he seeks to collect $50,000 in personal injury damages.
The 33-year-old man from Tigard, Oregon — or so he says — is among more than 450 people who have filed what appear to be fake claims for their piece of the $1.1 billion settlement reached in the Surfside class-action case, according to attorney Michael Goldberg, receiver for the Champlain Towers South condo association.
Many of the bogus claimants learned about the massive settlement fund on a website called hustlermoneyblog.com that alerts people how to submit “no-proof” claims for lawsuits nationwide.
The blog, which features a graphic of a stack of hundred-dollar bills alongside a judge’s gavel, listed the Champlain Towers South case and an official claims form that was posted on Goldberg’s CTS website. As of...
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