In a complaint filed Sunday, Heriberto Roman Jr. accused Florida Department of Financial Services investigator Robert J. Perrault Jr. of malicious prosecution following the termination of a state criminal case charging Roman with insurance fraud, impersonating a public adjuster and unlicensed contracting. Roman is the second person to bring such a suit against Perrault in the past two months.
Roman, who was an independent salesman for a roofing company, said he "faced significant time in prison for crimes he did not commit, that were orchestrated by Perrault on behalf of DFS, and were based on false facts."
"In reality, the factual bases for the felony criminal charges all stemmed from an egregiously faulty investigation under the ultimate authority of DFS. This investigation was nothing more than a house of cards waiting to collapse under DFS' watch," Roman added.
According to the complaint, the criminal case stemmed from an undercover investigation into Roman in February 2024, while the then-22-year-old was conducting door-to-door roofing sales.
The affidavit that Perrault submitted in support of the case stated that Roman inspected the roof of Maritza Rosa's Spring Hill, Florida, home, and assured her that the significant damage he found would be covered by her insurer. The affidavit claimed that Roman then initiated a fraudulent homeowner's insurance claim for a roof replacement, and that he represented himself as a contractor.
Rosa later testified, however, that she never saw Roman get on her roof to inspect or appraise any damage, and that he never represented himself as a public adjuster or licensed roofing contractor.
Prosecutors ultimately dismissed the case, but Roman said he still incurred significant damages based on Perrault's "deceptive, appalling, horrendously dishonest, and false investigation."
Roman further accused Perrault of trying to "curry favor with the insurance industry for his own professional benefit," saying he believed the investigator acted at the request of a certain insurer. The complaint did not identify the insurer.
A similar suit was filed against Perrault in April by Trevor Smith, a former independent contractor for a roofing company who was charged in three separate criminal cases after being investigated for convincing homeowners to hand over their assignment of benefits. Though the charges against Smith were also dropped, he said he endured significant emotional and physical distress and lost profits due to the destruction of his private roofing company.
"It seems like there's a pattern and practice that Mr. Perrault has when he does these 'investigations,' and it's all being done under the watch of the Department of Financial Services," Joshua B. Alper of Shapiro Blasi Wasserman & Hermann PA, who represents both Roman and Smith, told Law360 Thursday.
Alper said there are likely more suits to come, and noted that DFS will be added as a defendant in the lawsuit at some point.
"It's just an egregious set of circumstances of governmental overreach," he added.
A representative of DFS declined to comment Thursday.
Roman is represented by Joshua B. Alper of Shapiro Blasi Wasserman & Hermann PA.
Counsel information for Perrault was not available.
The case is Roman Jr. v. Perrault Jr., case number 8:25-cv-01261, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
--Additional reporting by David Minsky. Editing by Bruce Goldman.
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