Bradenton, FL – Florida Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis recently announced the arrest of eight unlicensed contractors in Manatee County.
The joint operation between CFO Patronis’ fraud detectives and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office was launched to address unlicensed contractors who were both working without a required contractor license and doing construction work without having workers’ compensation insurance, or a workers’ compensation insurance exemption(s).
CFO Jimmy Patronis said, “Performing construction work without workers’ compensation insurance and the required contractors licenses is not only illegal, but dangerous. Taking advantage of hard-working Floridians just to save a few bucks is despicable and puts customers and employees at risk. My fraud detectives have made more than 1,500 arrests for workers’ compensation fraud since I’ve been in office. I applaud the great teamwork between my fraud detectives and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, the NICB and the State Attorney’s Office on this successful sting operation and working diligently to bring these unscrupulous contractors to justice.”
On July 27 and 28, 2022, the Division of Investigative and Forensic Services’ Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Fraud along with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation conducted a joint sting leading to the arrest of the following eight individuals on a total of 24 charges of Failure to Obtain Workers’ Compensation Coverage and Unlicensed Contracting: Alberto Vega-Alvarez, Ryan Bogos, Thomas Yannotti, Julian Gubchak, Jeffrey Tenpenny, Luis Pineiro, Daniel Rotar, and Jamey Darnell.
All individuals were booked into the Manatee County Jail. Individuals charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. These individuals could each face up to 5 years in prison. These cases will be prosecuted by the Twelfth Judicial Circuit Office of the State Attorney.
Source: FL DIFS