Hillsborough County, Fla.(970 WFLA)-.
The Hillsborough Sheriff's Office yesterday announced the arrests of unlicensed contractors in two stings dating back to June.
Eight of those arrested are facing felony charges because they were operating during a state of emergency after the hurricane.
Case detectives gathered information from sources regularly used by homeowners to contact contractors and "handy man" services. These sources included: Angie's List, Home Adviser, Facebook, Craig's List, and various citizen complaints. Unit detectives located and contacted 310 potential unlicensed contractors. These subjects were gathered from all of the listed sources. Of the 310 subjects contacted, 114 returned calls for quotes and met with the detectives. Of those subjects, 73 criminal cases were filed for fraud and unlicensed contracting.
Unit detectives also initiated "Operation Swift Wind," which targeted unlicensed contractors conducting business during a state of emergency, which was declared on September 4, 2017, by Governor Scott in response to the threats posed by Hurricane Irma. In an abbreviated operation lasting for three days in late October, unit detectives contacted ten potential unlicensed contractors, resulting in five arrests for felony charges.
Photo Credit: Hillsborough Sheriff's Office
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