Flagler Home Builders Association Executive Director Annamaria Long said she sees multiple people pretending to be licensed contractors advertising their services every day on social media.

Unfortunately, scam artists offering discounted services for construction work is common, she said, and Palm Coast’s older and income-restricted populations are the prime targeted demographics.

“It’s especially common with the elderly and with people who are on a very tight budget or financially strained,” she said. “Those are the two people that are the easiest to take advantage of in these situations.”

On Sept. 4, as part of an undercover operation, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office arrested four individuals who were pretending to be licensed contractors in Palm Coast. There were 15 other individuals and 45 unlicensed businesses the FCSO were investigating who were not arrested that were identified from multiple complaints filed with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, the Flagler County Contractor Licensing Division and the Palm Coast Building Department.

The Flagler Home Builders Association is grateful for the FCSO’s and DBPR’s work on the undercover operation, Long said. The public needs to understand the importance of ensuring their contractor has a license and insurance. 

“I hope to see that there are more consumers aware of this being a crime and why it is a crime,” she said.

The four individuals who were arrested – Patrick Branigan, 34, of DeLand, Thomas Rush, 30, of Palm Coast; Jacob Gayle, 31, of Jacksonville and Aristides Chavez Martinez, 68, of Palm Coast – are facing various charges of operating without a license or as an unregistered contractor. Branigan and Rush were released on $1,000 bond and Gayle on a $500 bond, while Chavez was turned over the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement when the FCSO determined he was in the country illegally.

Each of the four men’s charges are first-degree misdemeanors, with potential penalties ranging from fines, probation or jail time. Long said that is not enough.

“Slaps on the wrist over and over again don’t cut it,” Long said. “That just allows people to continue doing crimes. And I think that we see that throughout all levels of crime.”

Long said she knows some people who may be more concerned with the cost may not care about their contractor’s licenses and insurances. But, she said, working with an unlicensed and uninsured individual will have 

“There’s a number of repercussions that can and will happen,” she said.

First and foremost, she said, a homeowner will be liable if an uninsured person working on their home is injured. 

Worse would be if something were to happen to the home, the home insurance won’t cover damages if the individual performing the work is unlicensed or uninsured, Long said. 

Long used an example a unlicensed electrician performing work on the electrical box. If a fire occurs in the home, she said, and it is in any way linked back to that work, the insurance won’t cover the damages.

“You can lose your entire life savings,” she said.

Long said she has also heard people say that they could be scammed just as easily by a licensed contractor. That’s true, she said: having a license “doesn’t make you an angel.” But licenses and insurances are investments contractors make into their businesses. It’s not just financial investments, either, because contractors are required to continue their education to stay up to date in the industry.

It may cost a little more, she said, but it is a layer of safety and protection for the consumer, too. 

“You have a much higher likelihood of doing or of having your job done correctly the first time,” she said. “And if something does go wrong, then you have opportunity for getting that rectified.”