Fake contractor scammed hurricane victims out of over $100,000, Florida cops say

Floridians affected by a catastrophic hurricane that hit the state in 2022 needed help rebuilding their homes. Nearly 40 of them turned to 47-year-old Justin Hoover of J&J Screens LLC and put down deposits so he could do repairs and construction on their homes, investigators said.

But Hoover wasn’t a licensed contractor, and instead of doing the work he was hired to do, he pocketed over $100,000 and never started the projects, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office. Now, a judge has sentenced Hoover to five years in prison and ordered him to pay $212,418 in restitution on 36 counts of unlicensed contracting during the state of emergency, 31 counts of grand theft from persons 65 years of age or older, six counts of grand theft and one count of unlicensed contracting, according to a news release from the State Attorney’s Office for the 12th Judicial Circuit. McClatchy News reached out to Hoover’s defense attorney for comment July 17 but did not immediately receive a response.

“Because we live in Florida, damage from hurricanes is always on the mind of our citizens and for these victims it became a reality,” prosecutor Amanda Morris said. “Unfortunately, not only did they have to suffer from the impacts of Hurricane Ian but also from the impact of Justin Hoover who was not a licensed contractor and never completed the work.” In September 2022, Hurricane Ian made landfall in southwest Florida as a Category 4 storm and caused nearly 150 deaths, according to the National Hurricane Center.

It was the costliest hurricane in Florida’s history, experts say. In the wake of the hurricane, Hoover was hired by at least 38 people whose homes were damaged in the storm to build new carports, roofs, screened-in porches, sheds and other projects, according to the sheriff’s office and a probable cause affidavit. Residents put down deposits ranging from $1,500 to $15,000 for the work, which Hoover never started, investigators said. Neither Hoover nor his LLC had proper licensing for contract work, according to deputies. “It is just wrong that there are people that do this,” one of the victims, Kelly Canegalie, told WFTS in 2023. “They prey on other people.” Many of the people Hoover is accused of defrauding were over 65 and lived in a community in Venice, near Florida’s Gulf Coast. “Justin Hoover stole the hard-earned money of veterans, seniors and those on fixed incomes and now he faces the reality of a prison sentence for his actions,” Morris said.