Floyd Smith is an American hero and Veteran of WWII.  A few years ago, Floyd was defrauded by a scammer that took advantage of Floyd’s kindness and trusting nature.  When it was over, Floyd lost a large portion of his life savings.  After realizing that the scammer was not going to pay him back, Floyd filed a lawsuit on his own and won a judgment.

Fred Meine, a partner at Coleman & Horowitt, met Floyd in the lobby of the Fresno Superior Court.  Fred was drawn to Floyd by the WWII Veteran hat Floyd was wearing.  Upon learning that Floyd was in court attempting to collect on the judgment, Fred offered to take up Floyd’s case on a pro bono (free) basis.  After several months, it became clear that there was no realistic chance of collecting any amount because the scammer had no property, no job and a growing criminal record.  In early December, Fred contacted Rocky Pipkin of the Pipkin Detective Agency in a last ditch effort to locate the scammer.  Fred and Rocky worked together with Janet Sheen, a paralegal at Coleman & Horowitt, to organize a GoFundMe drive and publicize the story.

With a little help from a television spot on the local news and two radio interviews on KMJ, the team was able to raise more than enough to cover Floyd’s losses.  In the end, Floyd was presented with a check for over $12,470, and picked up a free set of Beltone hearing aids and a free weekend in the Cayucos Motel on the Central Coast.  Over 360 people donated to the cause including several attorneys and staff members at Coleman & Horowitt.

Read the ABC 30 Action News story here.