Fraudulent Contractors Rounded Up—Florida

Amount: Unknown

On Tuesday of last week deputies began pounding on doors at 5:00 am, rounding up contractors accused of working without licenses and workers compensation insurance. The sheriff started a pilot program two months ago to help the Pinellas County Construction Licensing Board (PCCLB) crack down on unlicensed violators. The men that were rounded up on October 17 had taken thousands of dollars from residents. The sting was called Operation Nailed, and targeted twenty men. eleven were arrested by deputies during the operation, and one turned himself in later that evening. Some of the contractors were stunned by the operation, as they had been working for years without fear of strict penalties. Each of the twenty men faced at least one charge of contracting without a license, nineteen also faced a felony charge of workers compensation fraud. Several also faced charges of grand theft.

These fraudsters scammed homeowners in several ways, one of which was claiming that they had washed an executed check with their laundry and needed another, only to cash both checks and receive double the money for a job they may not even complete. The Construction Licensing Board is responsible for cracking down on unlicensed contractors, but their role has been diminished because the agency does not have police powers; they can only administer fines to contractors. Operation Nailed was executed by the PCCLB and the Pinellas County Sheriff's department in response to criticisms for failure to deter violators and an inability to collect unpaid fines. Due to a recent change in the role of the executive director of the PCCLB, 220 new investigations have been launched by Sheriffs since August of this year. A deeper look into the men contractors arrested on Tuesday uncovered that many of them have multiple citations and unpaid fines going back several years.