Florida Sheriff’s Office Arrests 50 Unlicensed Contractors in ‘Operation Bad Builder’
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office has announced the arrest of 50 unlicensed contractors in a massive operation the agency is calling “Operation Bad Builder.” The department celebrated the news with a press release on Oct. 22.
In it, Sheriff Chad Chronister lauded the work of his office, which included a months-long undercover operation that involved working multiple different angles, including complaints and tips from homeowners as well as social media postings.
In the end, dozens of contractors were arrested, including some who faced separate charges for other crimes that were discovered during the investigation, like one man who was also arrested for domestic battery by strangulation.
“A contractor’s license is more than a piece of paper,” the sheriff said in a statement. “It is proof that the person working on your home has the training to do the job safely.”
The Investigation Spanned 4 Months
Beginning June 1, detectives with the Sheriff’s Office’s Property Division and Construction Fraud Unit looked into tips, complaints, and online advertisements. The press release said that this investigation continued through Oct. 2, and also included multiple undercover meetings with the suspects they were looking into.
The press release named two of the contractors who were arrested by name, including Calvin Wilson, a convicted felon who had previously been arrested in 2023. It also named Steven Andreassen, who had been arrested for completing electrical work without a license. According to the press release, Andreassen was also arrested in June for domestic battery by strangulation. He had previously been arrested out of state for other crimes, including sexual battery, kidnapping, robbery, drug offenses, and assault with a deadly weapon on a government official.
“When someone with no license and no training touches your wiring, your roof, or your home’s foundation, they are putting your family in danger,” the statement from Sheriff Chronister said. “This operation was about more than arrests. It was about protecting your home and the people you love.”
Locals Are Looking for More Information to Stay Safe
Fox 13 News posted the story on Facebook, prompting many commenters to ask for advice on how to know if you’re hiring a licensed contractor. “Licensed contractors are given an actual license. They can provide it with the licensed contractor’s name—let you know if the owner owns license or rents it from someone else,” one person wrote.
Then there were those contractors who were already licensed who were happy to hear that the county was cracking down. “As a licensed and insured general contractor, thank you Hillsborough County for looking out for your people,” they wrote.
According to The Law Offices of John Caravella, P.C., there are a lot of reasons why homeowners want to avoid hiring an unlicensed contractor, even if they are less expensive than their licensed counterparts. According to the website, an unlicensed contractor puts the financial burden on the homeowner if anything goes wrong, including safety issues and building code violations.
Not only that, but homeowners could lose the legal protections provided to them by opting to use a licensed contractor, which include everything from local zoning and permitting rules to being able to enforce issues with a professional disciplinary board.
