- April 24, 2024
-
-
Loading
Loading
The Volusia County Sheriff's Office conducted a two-day operation to get unlicensed contractors off the streets, putting nine people behind bars with felony charges.
Lt. Brian Henderson announced the operation during a press conference Friday, Sept. 29. Henderson the sheriff's office has set up a sting spanning both the east and west side of Volusia where undercover cops are acting as either homeowners or realtors to catch unlicensed contractors in the act. The operation dubbed "Hurri-Con" began on Thursday, Sept. 28.
“For a lot of the people that are involved in this, all we want you to do is go out and get the license you’re supposed to have to do this," Henderson said. "But there is an element of people that come to the houses that are looking for crimes of opportunity — to steal things when you’re not looking.”
Due to Florida still being under a state of emergency by Gov. Rick Scott, contracting without a license is bumped up from a misdemeanor charge to a third-degree felony, subject to five years in prison.
Henderson said the sheriff's office has found some of these unlicensed contractors advertising in different social media platforms. Their purpose of the operation is to regulate the people who are performing contracting work with the correct license and to prevent others that could take advantage of people who need work done in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.
“To put it in perspective, these aren’t people that are showing up in trucks and trailers," Henderson said. "Two of them showed up in small SUVs with windows missing and a ladder bungee-tied to the top of a car.”
While the majority of the people have been honest with deputies about the lack of a contracting license, Henderson said it was evident some of the individuals they've encountered were trying to capitalize on the damages done by the hurricane.
“They are looking to make a quick dollar," Henderson said. "Who knows what kind of work they’re actually going to do if they’re going to do the work at all?”
He mentioned two individuals who were arrested for contracting without a license. One of them is David Crabtree of Ormond Beach, who was a repeat offender and had been let off with a warning last year for the same reason. The other was John Kirk of Port Orange, who was also wanted for credit card fraud.
Henderson said some of the cases with unlicensed contractors involve homeowners who pay a large sum of money up front and are promised certain projects to be done, only for their "contractor" to never actually complete the jobs.
“It’s sad that someone would seek out their neighbors and commit this kind of crime,” Henderson said.
In a press release, VCSO said investigators developed a list of potentially unlicensed contractors in Volusia County, some which they found on Craigslist, and set up appointments in Daytona Beach so the individuals could provide the undercover officers with a roof repair estimate. After the unlicensed contractor conducted business, deputies went out and conducted a traffic stop to arrest them.
“We’ve run this operation before, and we’ll do it again – the point is, if you want to do the kind of work that requires a permit, go through the process and do it legitimately," said VCSO Sheriff Mike Chitwood in a press release. "We’re not going to sit here and leave our residents vulnerable to scam artists and thieves out there looking to make an easy profit.”
Henderson also took some time during the conference to thank the agencies that assisted VCSO with the operation:the Department of Business and Professional Relations, Daytona Beach Police Department and the State Attorney’s office for the seventh judicial circuit. Without them, Henderson said, they wouldn't be able to perform the operation.
“We want the message to be clear," Henderson said. "If you’re in this business and you’re legit, then we want you to help our citizens. If you’re in this business and you’re out for greed, be aware because we’re going to do this again, and it’s very likely that you’re going to be in contact with one of our undercover deputies, and you’re going to end up in jail.”
