A Clearwater contractor was booked into the Pinellas County Jail without bond after police accused him of siphoning more than $700,000 meant to build a new home for Unity Church of Clearwater into his own pocket. William Botelho, 40, faces a grand theft charge after investigators say the money that was supposed to cover building supplies and subcontractor payments instead went toward a luxury car, vacations and legal bills.
According to Tampa Bay 28, Unity Church of Clearwater entered into a construction contract with Custom Building Solutions in August 2023, a company that, at the time, police say was owned and operated by Botelho. The church paid Botelho $832,175, described in the report as 20 percent of the overall contract value, with the understanding the money would go toward building supplies and subcontractor payments.
Police subpoenas reportedly showed that only $95,630 of that payment actually went toward the project between August 2023 and March 2026. The same subpoenas showed $736,545 of the money was unaccounted for over that same stretch, according to the police report cited by the station.
Where Investigators Say the Money Went
Police said Botelho spent $176,574 on restaurants, vacations and other personal expenses. Investigators also say he spent $100,000 on a Mercedes, paid $65,000 to Ford Motor Company, put $58,556 toward his condominium association, paid $15,251 toward a Chase home mortgage and spent $24,400 on various law firms, the station's report states.
Beyond those expenditures, police said Botelho deposited $37,661 into a separate account and withdrew or paid himself by check another $114,700. By March 2026, his account reportedly contained just $56,078. Botelho was served a demand letter in July 2026 seeking the remaining money not spent on the church project, and police say he did not respond to it, per the same account.
A Church Still Waiting on Its New Home
Unity Church of Clearwater's own construction updates page identifies Don Donahue of Gulf Atlantic Building Contractors as the contractor managing construction of its new church home, according to unityofclearwater.org. How that identification squares with the police allegations against Botelho and Custom Building Solutions is not addressed in the available records.
Separately, BuildZoom lists Custom Building Solutions at 1630 Tawnyberry Court in Trinity, Florida, describing it as a firm providing construction and remodeling services throughout the greater Pasco County area. The same listing shows a Custom Building Solutions permit record at 2419 Nursery Road in Pinellas County tied to construction of a new two-story church, and notes the typical size of the company's permits runs around $30,000 — a fraction of the sum investigators say changed hands in the Unity Church deal.
Not an Isolated Complaint in Florida
Florida has seen a string of similar allegations against contractors accused of taking large payments without delivering finished work. In Louisiana, WAFB reported that Shekinah Glory Christian Center paid contractor Edvante Showers approximately $100,000 for a building expansion that began under an $82,000 contract later changed to $140,000 because of change orders — yet the expansion remained incomplete, with construction equipment scattered across the site and the HVAC system never replaced, according to WAFB.
Closer to home, CBS12 reported that a South Florida man was arrested after state investigators said he posed as a licensed contractor and collected about $174,000 from a Hollywood homeowner to repair a fire-damaged house. And in Central Florida, WESH reported that an unlicensed contractor pleaded guilty after taking money for work that was never done.
What Florida Law Says About the Charge
Under Florida law, theft is defined as knowingly obtaining or using another person's property with intent to deprive that person of it or to appropriate it for an unauthorized use, according to the Florida Legislature. When stolen property is valued at $100,000 or more, the offense is classified as grand theft in the first degree, a first-degree felony under the same statute — the figure investigators say Botelho spent on personal expenses alone clears that threshold several times over.
