HUDSON -- Pasco sheriff's deputies have arrested a man they suspect was running a chop shop.
According to Sheriff Chris Nocco, Scott Sands, 43, identified as the owner of Liberty Entrepreneurs, Inc., was stealing boat parts from victims' vessels and selling them online, as well as ripping off boat parts and using them to repair other boats, and using car parts to fix watercraft.
Sands' charges include Scheme to Defraud, Failure to Secure Worker's Compensation Insurance Coverage, Grand Theft, Dealing in Stolen Property, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Own/Operate/Conduct Chop Shop and Possession of Vessel with Altered Hull.
A Detective Rosenkowski who spoke at the news conference said that Sands' plan involved promising a quick turnaround for repairs, say three weeks, then keeping boats for months. If a customer made him angry, according to witnesses, Sands would take engines and expensive parts out of the boat and sell them online. Rosenkowski says Sands would also "impound" boats by improperly placing a lien on them after the owners had not claimed them... and then strip them for parts,
Liberty includes a boat and auto salvage and repair company and two storage lots. He was previously charged with operating a chop shop in Pinellas County. The Sheriff's Office is working to identify other potential victims.
Photo: Pasco Sheriff's Office