Chasing after a disaster chaser

But when Hurricane Gustav blew through Louisiana months later, state authorities once again saw that Paramount trucks were plying the streets of Baton Rouge.

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Officials in pursuit

In bankruptcy court, Slepcevic claimed a monthly net income of $9 and debts exceeding $1 million.

Paramount "to a large extent depends on the fortuity of disasters," his court filings stated. The company had miscalculated, gambling that hurricanes would continue at the pace they had in 2005.

But things were looking up. "The recent devastating California wildfire season has resulted in a great and unanticipated volume of work," the filings say. In the summer of 2007, shortly after Slepcevic filed for bankruptcy, the Angora fire started in South Lake Tahoe.

Slepcevic arrived in town and immediately ran newspaper ads, posted fliers and tried to join the chamber of commerce. Stuart, the fire victims' advocate, recognized Paramount's name from the 2003 fire at Lake Arrowhead and warned local officials, who contacted the state Insurance Department.

The department already knew about Paramount. Since 2000, officials had tried to stop the company from acting as an unlicensed public adjuster. Paramount's attorneys successfully staved off any action by insisting it was a general contractor. After a three-year investigation, the department dropped the matter, even though its own investigator concluded that Paramount "continues to act as a public adjuster without a public adjuster's license."

Now, the department believed Paramount was at it again, offering to help Tahoe residents negotiate insurance claims for smoke damage. The department ordered Paramount to stop, referring to the company in a news release as "predators" and "scoundrels."

Paramount responded by suing Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, including affidavits from several Tahoe homeowners who said they were pleased to have the company's help. The company's 20% commission "seemed pretty high," recalled Paramount client Neil Cohn, but he felt he was getting the runaround from his insurance company.

As the litigation dragged on, Paramount immersed itself in disasters large and small across the state.

When wildfires broke out in San Diego County that fall, Slepcevic ordered 100 signs that advertised Paramount's work on "insurance claims," despite the state's cease-and-desist order, records show. Paramount held a Fire Recovery Summit in Rancho Santa Fe, where Todd was described as the principal of "Paramount Adjusters," Insurance Department records show.