New charges filed against couple who allegedly provided fraudulent mediation services to private citizens and the City of Gainesville

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – New charges have been filed against Florzelle Fields Jr., and Katrina Renee Fields, 45, has been charged with fraudulently certifying documents as a notary, as well as participating in a scheme to defraud clients seeking mediation services from Zion & Company; the City of Gainesville provided multiple records related to the firm’s business dealings with the City, including a conflict resolution seminar, a “business matchmaker” event, and multiple mediations.

Florzelle Fields

Florzelle Fields was originally arrested on March 14 (click here for the full details on that case) on several felonies related to impersonating an attorney at Zion & Company LLC; seven formal felony charges have now been filed in that case.

On May 25, a High Springs resident reported that she paid Fields $1,250 in 2022 to mediate a case for her family, and he never conducted the mediation and did not refund her money. She said she saw media reports about his arrest and decided to report the incident.

Florzelle is being held on charges in seven local cases, including violating probation, three cases involving violations of pre-trial release conditions, the case linked above, and the new charges. Another victim reported allegations of fraud to the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office in March, but Florzelle has not been booked on those charges.

In connection with the May report, Florzelle has been charged with engaging in a scheme to defraud with a victim over 65, misrepresenting himself as qualified to practice law, exploitation of an elderly person, and unlawful use of a two-way communications device. He has 12 felony convictions (none violent) and 17 misdemeanor convictions (one violent) in Florida, and he has at least one conviction in Georgia for misrepresenting himself as an attorney. Judge Meshon Rawls set bail at $575,000 on the new charges.

Katrina Fields

Katrina Fields was arrested on April 23 for allegedly fraudulently acting as a notary for documents signed by Florzelle’s victims and engaging in a scheme to defraud by acting as a receptionist at Zion & Company and steering potential clients to Florzelle while working as a receptionist at Haven Hospice.

One victim reportedly said that Katrina Fields recommended Florzelle Fields as an attorney to help her with a temporary child custody issue while a relative was in hospice care, and she paid Florzelle $1,000, but he erroneously filed the paperwork in the wrong county. The victim said that because of this, it took her three years to resolve the issue, and Florzelle never refunded her money.

A second victim reportedly said that her neighbor told her while he was in hospice that he wished to leave his estate to her, but staff members who were aware of the request were unable to get the request in writing before the neighbor died. The victim said Katrina Fields said “her husband” could help the victim with her “legal matter.”

Months after meeting with Florzelle, the second victim reported that no discernible work had been done and Florzelle Fields told her she would need to pay $2,500, although he had originally offered to help her pro bono because Zion was a “faith-based firm.” The second victim said she signed a document, but it was not notarized at the time; however, when it was filed with a court three months later, Katrina Fields had notarized it. This victim said that although she paid Zion & Company $1,250, she never received any documentation showing work performed on her case.

Katrina reportedly admitted to a Gainesville Police Department officer that she had notarized signatures on “numerous” documents for Zion & Company, even if she had not witnessed the signature, despite indicating on the document that she had validated the signature by physical appearance.

In September 2025, Katrina Fields reportedly spoke with a GPD detective and said she married Florzelle Fields in 2020, and at the time, he told her he was a lawyer in south Florida who specialized in mediation and litigation, but he was in the process of moving to Georgia. She said he moved in with her a few months later and “surprised” her by starting Zion & Company and telling her he had put the business in her name; although the firm was voluntarily dissolved in February 2025, documents provided by the City of Gainesville show that Katrina Fields was listed as both the Registered Agent and President of Zion & Company during the period when the firm did business with the City.

Katrina Fields reportedly said that she’d had limited contact with clients and primarily functioned as a notary and “talked to some people.” She said she had worked at Haven Hospice for about a year in 2022 and said she never recommended Florzelle to anyone at Haven Hospice, but co-workers had met Florzelle, and when a patient or family member mentioned needing legal assistance, the co-workers sent those people to her, and she provided Florzelle’s phone number. She said she had not purposely gone to work at Haven Hospice to gain client referrals.

Katrina said Florzelle had told her it was legal for her to notarize documents without witnessing the signature.

After Florzelle was arrested, another victim came forward and alleged that documents had been filed with the Alachua County Property Appraiser’s office with the victim’s forged signature; one of these was allegedly notarized by Katrina.

Katrina Fields has been charged with engaging in a scheme to defraud and fraudulently certifying a document as a notary. She has no criminal history, and Judge Denise Ferrero set bail at $30,000 in her arrest warrant.

City of Gainesville business dealings with Zion & Company

In response to a public records request, the City of Gainesville provided documents related to the City’s business relationship with Zion & Company.

In July 2023, the City of Gainesville Office of Equity & Inclusion presented “Understanding Conflict in Business,” featuring “Katrina R. Fields, President” and “Dr. Florzelle Fields, Jr., PhD., Sr. Conflict Resolution Specialist with Zion & Co., “a private mediation and arbitration firm, whose primary goal is to work as Neutrals in resolving conflict in areas of Corporate Law/ Probate & Estates/ Contract Dispute/ Employment Disputes/ Real Estate/ Government Disputes.” The City did not submit any documents indicating that the Fields were paid for this seminar.

In October 2023, Zion & Company submitted a mediation report for a case involving a complaint against a nursing home and reported “Full Settlement of all issues.” The City paid $100 for mediation services in that case.

In January 2024, Zion & Company submitted a mediation report for a case involving an employment complaint against a moving company and reported “Full Settlement of all issues.” The City paid $100 for mediation services in that case.

In November 2024, Zion & Company submitted mediation reports to the City for three cases involving complaints against apartment complexes and reported that there was “No Agreement.” The City paid $100 for mediation services in each of those three cases.

A supplier application form submitted by Zion & Company to the City of Gainesville in September 2023 lists Katrina Fields as the President of the company and appears to be signed by her; it also lists Zion & Company as a “Minority Business Enterprise (Black)” and “Women Business Enterprise.” The W-9 submitted by Zion & Company also appears to be signed by Katrina Fields.

In May 2024, the City of Gainesville Office of Equity & Inclusion held a Spring Business Matchmaker event that included “Dr. Florzelle Fields, Jr. PhD” as a “Senior Conflict Consultant” on a panel discussing Small Business – His/Her Success Stories. The program stated that Florzelle provided “Professional Arbitration, Mediation, and Pre-Suit Resolution Services to Individuals and Companies.” The City did not provide any documents indicating that Fields was paid for this event.

A profile provided by the City describes Florzelle Fields as someone possessing “authenticity” and a “methodology of transparency and truth [that] is profound.” It also lists a number of certificates and memberships that are allegedly fraudulent, including memberships in bar associations and mediation certifications.

A profile provided by the City describes Katrina Fields as a “highly influenced [sic] professional… [who] has merged her professional-focused vision and experience in management to evaluate and balance Zion & Company, to become one of the greatest and most impactful conflict resolution organizations in Florida.”

In February 2025, just three weeks before the company voluntarily dissolved, Zion & Company submitted a proposal to the City for a rate adjustment from $100 for two hours of mediation to $200 for two hours of mediation. The proposal also offered an Internal Conflict Resolution Training Program for the Office of Equity & Inclusion team; the proposal says the original price was $2,500, but the training would be free if “attendance is more than 5 and less than 10.” If the City responded to this proposal, those documents were not provided, and no invoices were provided for services after that date.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.