An Orange County, Fla. Circuit Court judge recently cleared Andrew Sutter and Andrew Dinda of Total Fleet Solutions, an Orlando-based rental car subrogation firm, of all 23 conspiracy, insurance fraud and false communication charges against them.

The state claimed the pair billed auto insurers nearly $800,000 in inflated damage estimates on hurricane-damaged cars that they billed as a total loss to collect higher payments from the insurance companies.

Sutter says he had nothing to hide and invited the Department of Insurance to audit the company.

Nonetheless, Sutter, owner and operator, and Dinda, a senior analyst, were arrested in March 2006.

The ruling clearing the company ended a three-year probe against TFS by insurance regulators.

After the lengthy investigation, Sutter says he was forced to lay off 30 employees and faces attorney fees in excess of $500,000.

“I want the rental car industry to know that TFS never did anything wrong except stand up for the rights of the car rental industry,” Sutter says.

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