Insurance suit claims $143.5M diverted

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., April 3 (UPI) -- A lawsuit filed in a Florida court charges owners of three insurance companies with diverting funds before declaring bankruptcy.

The Florida Department of Financial Services, which became the receiver of three property insurance units of Poe Financial Group Inc., claims William F. Poe Sr. and 22 others knew the company was headed for insolvency after hurricanes flooded the company with claims in 2004 and 2005.

In the same years, the suit alleges Poe family members and other shareholders tucked away $143.5 million in company dividends.

The suit, filed Monday in Leon County, Fla., Circuit Court and seeking a return of dividends and $33.5 million in commissions, names Poe and 22 others, Business Insurance reported.

In a statement, Poe claimed the suit was retaliation for a pending lawsuit a Poe agency filed against the state's Citizens Property Insurance Corp.

"We assumed all along the state would attempt to fight our claim any way it could," Poe said. "We view this action as an attempt to try and intimidate our side."