Professional Scammer Arrested for Domestic Violence
Correction July 15: Mistakenly attributed Florzelle Fields' theft charges to being filed by the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) when they were filed by the Gainesville Police Department (GPD).
Update July 15: Fields' attorney, Julian Hayes, contacted GnvInfo threatening to sue for defamation if this article is not removed. The request has been declined. The article was updated with more information from the arrest reports and sworn affidavit, which are public record under Florida law and legal to publish.
Hayes denied the allegations of theft and elderly exploitation but didn't mention the domestic battery allegations in his "Notice to Cease and Desist."
Hayes denied allegations by the Florida Supreme Court that Fields faked his legal credentials and said that he has an active defamation case against the 77-year-old veteran victim in his theft case.
"Mr. Fields is a corporate mediator and upon the Florida Statute, 44.1011 is not liable for any action, and all creditable licences are governed by the Florida Supreme Court, American Arbitration Association and are also protected by the Florida Supreme Courts," said Hayes. " "Mr. Fields is Not Guilty of any crime," he added.
Senior Conflict Resolution Specialist of Zion & Co. LLC, Florzelle Fields, is facing criminal charges for domestic battery and violating pretrial release conditions, in addition to a financial exploitation case tied to his “conflict resolution” business.
Fields has been arrested and released twice in three days, according to ACSO booking reports.
Deputies arrested Fields on Tuesday after he allegedly threw several coins at the victim during an argument.
Deputies observed several coins scattered across the bedroom, according to the arrest report.
The arrest report states Fields “admitted to propelling coins in the victim's direction, and stated that one or more of the coins had struck her while she sat on their bed.”
Fields was released Wednesday after posting a $5,000 bond, court records show, but he was arrested again on the same day for violating his pretrial release conditions.
Under the conditions of his bond, Fields must stay 500 feet away from the victim; however, he was granted a one time visit at her residence with the presence of a deputy to collect his belongings.
Deputy Katherine Feigl reported that when she arrived at the victim’s residence for Fields' scheduled visit, he was sitting in a car with his bondsman approximately 140 feet away from the house.
The victim told police that Fields was sitting outside her house for 45 minutes.
Fields posted a $50,000 bond one day after his arrest, court records show.
Fields has another open case of theft and elderly exploitation, but a warrant hasn’t been filed.
In June 2024, the victim, a 77 year old disabled veteran, hired Fields to help him resolve a landlord-tenant issue he was facing with Atrium property management.
According to the police report, several of the victim’s neighbors were experiencing similar problems with Atrium and he also paid for Fields to fix their issues.
The victim told police he initially signed a contract to pay $1,750 to Fields for his services. Later on, Fields requested an additional $3,000, saying it was needed for a class action lawsuit, which the victim paid.
In October 2024, Fields, his lawyer Julian Hayes, and the victim attended a meeting with Atrium property management. According to the police report, “the victim stated that both before and after this meeting, Fields was evasive via text, in person, on phone calls, and would refuse help.”
The police report states that over the next two weeks, Fields told the victim and his neighbors that he was dropping their cases because he wanted to pursue a job at ACSO with Sheriff Chad Scott.
The victim called ACSO asking about Fields and they said they didn’t know of his existence, according to the police report.
The police report states, “Fields advertises himself as a doctor in Public Policy and having a Ph.D, and that his business was called Zion and Company LLC, also known as the Zion Firm. The business offers mediation, business consultation and conflict resolution with Fields as the Senior Conflict Consultant and lead mediator. Per the Zion Firm's website, they resolve conflicts in the areas of Corporate Law, Civil Disputes, Contract Law, Landlord Tenant Issues, Real Estate, Probate and Insurance. The website also has photos of a people dressed as attorneys and gavel advertising that the company also provides services related to wills, power of attorney, notary signing and /loan signing. From the beginning of [the victim’s] interactions with Fields, he believed that Fields was a certified mediator and licensed by the FL Bar.”
Fields is not licensed by the Florida bar and he is not a doctor, the police report states.
The victim told police he began researching Fields and found that he was faking his credentials for his PhD in public policy and the Florida Bar. The victim also found complaints from many other citizens about Fields’ lack of credentials.
The victim told Fields he wanted a refund, and Fields reportedly responded that he’d return the money but never did.
The police report states Fields has nine felony and 15 misdemeanor convictions across Florida and Georgia, in addition to an active Florida Supreme Court case for faking his legal credentials.
According to the police report, "The felony arrests in FL consist of: sale of cocaine, grand theft, passing worthless checks, smuggling contraband into prison, possession of cocaine, forgery (altering a public record) scheme to defraud, and habitual traffic offender. In GA, Def Fields was convicted of theft by deception and first degree forgery."
Additionally, the university Fields claimed to have a PhD from, Walden University, told GPD that he only graduated with a Master’s degree, according to the police report.
The police report goes on to state that Fields claimed to work for the Georgia Alternative Dispute Resolution department, but they told GPD that he was never employed with them.
Furthermore, Fields’ employment history dates on his LinkedIn do not match up with the dates his businesses were registered, according to the police report.
“Fields misrepresented himself to everyone in order to solicit business from the courts, the city and the community,” reports GPD Officer Justin Torres. “If not for his fabricated resume and facade, a normal citizen would not hire Fields for his services. He used this facade to exploit [the victim] and steal money from him with the false expectation of mediation via class action lawsuit.”
In July 2023, the City of Gainesville Office of Equity and Inclusion presented a conflict resolution conference by Zion & Co. LLC.
In August 2023, TV20 published an article on job losses that includes a quote from Fields, and the outlet falsely reported he was a doctor.
