How a Moving Broker Ignores a Subpoena and Keeps Operating

When consumers file complaints about moving fraud, they assume someone will investigate and the company will be held accountable. Here is what actually happens, step by step, based on two documented FL AG investigations from 2025-2026.

Consumers file complaints with FMCSA (NCCDB), the BBB, and the state AG. Each complaint creates a record. No individual complaint triggers enforcement. The complaints accumulate.

Coastal Moving Services accumulated 229 NCCDB complaints and 427 BBB complaints. Amerisafe Vanlines accumulated 293 NCCDB complaints. Both companies continued operating throughout the complaint accumulation period.

This phase can last years. There is no threshold that automatically triggers investigation. The AG reviews complaints and makes a discretionary decision about whether to investigate.

The Florida AG's Consumer Protection Division opens an investigation under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA). This is not public. The consumer who filed the complaint is not notified. The company is not yet required to do anything.

The AG reviews the complaints, gathers information, and determines whether there is 'reason to believe the Companies have engaged in, or are engaging in, acts or practices that violate FDUTPA.'

This phase involves internal review and resource allocation. The AG handles consumer protection complaints across all industries, not just moving.

The AG issues a civil investigative subpoena under Section 501.206 of the Florida Statutes, requiring the company's owner to appear for a sworn statement at the AG's offices.

In the Coastal case, Robert Castro was served on November 12, 2025, with a return date of December 19, 2025. In the Amerisafe case, Frank DeSantis was served on October 17, 2025.

The subpoena is the first legally binding action in the process. Everything before it was voluntary.

Both Castro and DeSantis did not comply with the subpoena. Castro's counsel 'neither rejected service nor notified the Attorney General that he was not authorized to accept service.' DeSantis simply did not appear.

There is no automatic penalty for failing to comply with an AG investigative subpoena. The AG cannot arrest the owner, cannot fine the company, and cannot shut down the operation based solely on subpoena non-compliance. The AG's only option is to go to court.

The AG files a petition with the Broward County Circuit Court requesting an order compelling the owner to comply with the subpoena. This is a separate legal proceeding.

For Amerisafe, the AG filed on January 9, 2026, approximately 3 months after the subpoena was served. For Coastal, the AG filed on January 30, 2026, approximately 2.5 months after the subpoena was served.

The court petition must be scheduled, served on the respondent, and heard by a judge. This takes additional weeks to months.

While steps 3 through 5 play out, the company continues to:

- Accept new customer bookings - Collect non-refundable deposits - Dispatch carriers - Generate new complaints - Run Google Ads ('Reliable Movers, Great Rates')

No injunction has been issued. No cease-and-desist order is in effect. The investigation is about gathering information, not stopping the company from operating. Until the AG obtains enough evidence to file a FDUTPA action and the court issues an injunction, the company has no legal obligation to change its practices.

For context, the Gold Standard case took over two years from the AG's complaint filing (December 2022) to the consent final judgment (March 2025). During those two years, Gold Standard and its 9 affiliated companies continued operating.

The existence of a state AG investigation does not mean a company will be shut down. It does not mean consumers are protected during the investigation. It means the AG is gathering information, which may or may not lead to an enforcement action, which may or may not result in an injunction, which may or may not permanently bar the company from operating.

Consumers cannot wait for enforcement to protect them. By the time an investigation concludes, your move will be long over. The only protection available in real time is pre-booking due diligence:

1. Check the company's NCCDB complaint history at trunk.lorea.ai/dashboard/nccdb 2. Check whether the company is a broker (0 trucks) or a carrier 3. Search the company name plus 'complaints' or 'investigation' online 4. Never pay by cash, Zelle, or money order 5. Get a binding estimate in writing and do not sign a revised estimate under pressure on moving day

The enforcement system exists. It moves slowly. Your move does not.