22-001950 Anthony Moore vs. Department Of Financial Services Status: Closed Recommended Order on Thursday, August 11, 2022.

Summary: Petitioner failed to carry his burden of proving his entitlement to licensure.

S TATE OF F LORIDA

D IVISION OF A DMINISTRATIVE H EARINGS

A NTHONY M OORE ,

Petitioner ,

vs. Case No. 22 - 1950

D EPARTMENT OF F INANCIAL S ERVICES ,

Respondent .

/

R ECOMMENDED O RDER OF D ISMISSAL

Pursuant to notice, a formal administrative hearing was convened via

Zoom on August 9, 2022, before Administrative Law Judge Garnett W.

Chisenhall of the Division of Administrative Hearings (ÑDOAHÒ).

A PPEARANCES

For Petitioner: No appearan ce

For Respondent: Greg Caracci, Esquire

Department of Financial Services

612 Larson Building

Tallahassee, Florida 32301

S TATEMENT OF T HE I SSUE

Whether PetitionerÔs application for licensure as a non - resident personal

lines (90 - 44) agent should be granted.

P RELIMINARY S TATEMENT

On December 27, 2021, the Department of Financial Services (Ñthe

DepartmentÒ) issued a ÑNotice of DenialÒ no tifying Petitioner (ÑAnthony

MooreÒ or ÑMr. MooreÒ) that the Department intended to deny his application

for licensure as a non - resident personal lines (90 - 44) agent. In support

thereof, the Department stated that Mr. Moore had entered a guilty plea on

May 23, 2003, in the Circuit Court of St. Louis County, Missouri, to a charge

of possession with intent to distribute. The Notice of Denial also stated that

Mr. Moore failed to disclose the aforementioned felony in response to a

question on his licensure appl ication asking if he had ever been convicted of a

felony. Mr. Moore requested a formal administrative hearing, and the

Department referred this matter to DOAH on July 1, 2022.

The undersigned issued a Notice on July 11, 2022, scheduling a final

hearing f or August 9, 2022.

A pre - hearing conference was held on July 28, 2022, with all parties

present. Mr. Moore did not request that the final hearing be continued.

The final hearing was convened as scheduled at 9:00 a.m. on August 9,

2022. The DepartmentÔ s counsel was present, but no one appeared on

Mr. MooreÔs behalf. The undersigned took a short recess and asked his

administrative assistant to contact Mr. Moore. All efforts to contact

Mr. Moore were unsuccessful. The undersigned reconvened the hearing at

approximately 9:20 a.m., without Mr. Moore being present. The final hearing

was thereafter adjourned.

Given the burden of proof as discussed herein, post - hearing submittals

were determined to be unnecessary.

Unless noted otherwise, all statutory refer ences shall be to the 2022

version of the Florida Statutes. See generally Lavernia v. DepÔt of Pro . Reg ul .,

Bd. of Med. , 616 So. 2d 53 (Fla. 1 st DCA 1993)(stating that ÑFlorida follows

the general rule that a change in a licensure statute that occurs durin g the

pendency of an application for licensure is operative as to the application, so

that the law as changed, rather than as it existed at the time of the

application was filed, determines whether the license should be granted.Ò).

F INDINGS OF F ACT

1. By letter dated December 27, 2021, the Department notified Mr. Moore

that it intended to deny his application for licensure as a non - resident

personal lines (90 - 44) agent. In support of its intended action, the

Department stated that Mr. Moore had pled guilty in the Circuit Court of

St. Louis County, Missouri, on May 23, 2003, to a charge of possession with

intent to distribute. The Department also stated that Mr. Moore did not

disclose the aforementioned offense in response to a question on his licensur e

application asking if he had ever been convicted of a felony.

2. Mr. Moore requested a formal administrative hearing and asserted that

he had no criminal history. He further asserted that the information obtained

by the Department was the result of a Ñprank.Ò

3. Because of Mr. MooreÔs failure to appear for the final hearing, there is

no evidence to support a finding that he is entitled to the license he is

seeking.

C ONCLUSIONS OF L AW

4 . DOAH has jurisdiction over the parties and the subject matter of this

proceeding. § 120.57(1), Fla. Stat.

5. Mr. Moore applied to the Department for licensure as a personal lines

insurance agent. A personal lines agent is Ña general lines agent who is

limited to transacting business related to property and casualty insu rance

sold to individuals and families for noncommercial purposes.Ò £ 626.015(17),

Fla. Stat.

6. The Department is charged with the duty to enforce and administer

provisions of chapter 626 , Florida Statutes . Accordingly, the Department has

jurisdiction ov er the licensing procedures for personal lines agents. See §

626.016(1), Fla. Stat.

7. Section 626.207, sets forth grounds upon which applicants for insurance

licensure will be disqualified. Section 626.207(2) establishes a permanent

licensure bar for tho se guilty of first degree felonies, capital felonies, felonies

involving money laundering, felony embezzlement, and felonies directly

related to the financial services business. Section 626.207(3)(a), imposes a

Ñ15 - year disqualifying period for all felonie s involving moral turpitude which

are not specifically included in the permanent bar contained in subsection

(2).Ò

8. Possessing a controlled substance with an intent to distribute is a crime

of moral turpitude. Milliken v. DepÔt of Bus. & Pro . Reg ul . , 709 So. 2d 595

(Fla. 5 th DCA 1998).

9 . Mr. Moore challenges the DepartmentÔs denial of his application. As the

applicant for a license, Mr. Moore has the ultimate burden of persuasion to

prove his entitlement to licensure by a preponderance of the evidence. DepÔt

of Banking & Fin. v. Osborne Stern & Co. , 670 So. 2d 932, 934 (Fla. 1996).

10 . Mr. Moore failed to meet his burden of proof.

R ECOMMENDATION

Based on the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is

R ECOMMENDED that the Department of Fi nancial Services enter a final order:

(a) dismissing Anthony MooreÔs request for a formal administrative hearing;

and (b) denying his application for licensure as a non - resident personal lines

(90 - 44) agent.

D ONE A ND E NTERED this 1 1 th day of August , 2022 , in Tallahassee, Leon

County, Florida.

S

G. W. C HISENHALL

Administrative Law Judge

1230 Apalachee Parkway

Tallahassee, Florida 32399 - 3060

(850) 488 - 9675

www.doah.state.fl.us

Filed with the Clerk of the

Division of Administrative Hearings

this 1 1 th day of August , 2022 .

C OPIES F URNISHED :

Anthony Moore Greg Caracci, Esquire

3108 Meadow Pass Department of Financial Services

Florissant, Missouri 63031 612 Larson Building

Tallahassee, Florida 32301

Diane Wint, Agency Clerk

Division of Legal Services

Department of Financial Services

Room 612.14, Larson Building

200 East Gaines Street

Tallahassee, Flor ida 32399 - 0390

N OTICE OF R IGHT T O S UBMIT E XCEPTIONS

All parties have the right to submit written exceptions within 15 days from

the date of this Recom mended Order. Any exceptions to this Recommended

Order should be filed with the agency that will issue the Final Order in this

case.