Fifty people were arrested in a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office operation targeting unlicensed contractors. Sheriff Chad Chronister was expected to provide more details at a news conference Thursday.
The arrest total was reported by WFLA.
A Familiar Playbook for HCSO
This is far from the first time Hillsborough County deputies have gone after unlicensed contractors in large numbers. In 2023, an undercover operation targeting unlicensed contractors involved in construction fraud resulted in 22 people facing multiple charges, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. A 2020 undercover sting in Sun City Center, which ran from Sept. 21 to Oct. 2 that year, led to the arrests of 27 unlicensed contractors, per reporting from wtsp.com.
Two years before that, a 2018 sweep dubbed Operation Bring Down the House produced 15 arrests, with charges pending against five additional contractors, wtsp.com reported. That operation stemmed from detectives contacting 91 suspected unlicensed contractors between May and June of 2018 through sites including Craigslist, Yelp, Facebook and Porch, the outlet noted. The largest of these past efforts, known as Operation House Hunters, resulted in 118 arrests after undercover detectives posed as homeowners and set up 191 appointments for home repair work, with attempted work valued at more than $540,000, according to the sheriff's office.
The Problem Extends Beyond Hillsborough
Unlicensed contracting stings have become a recurring enforcement tool across the Tampa Bay region and beyond. In Manatee County, a similar operation in April 2024 resulted in 16 contractor arrests, bradenton.com reported, while a separate three-day Manatee operation between March 4 and 6 identified 14 people working without required licenses, though six faced no charges because they declined to proceed with the offered work.
Pinellas County saw a 2024 operation result in more than 50 arrests tied to 85 projects, according to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. A Clearwater Beach sting led to more than 40 arrests on more than 50 charges, Patch reported. Smaller operations in Lee County produced nine charges for unlicensed contracting and felony State of Emergency violations, while a Monroe County sweep resulted in eight citations, the state agency said.
What Florida Law Says About Unlicensed Work
Florida law prohibits engaging in the business or capacity of a contractor, or advertising oneself as available to do contractor work, without being duly registered or certified, according to Florida Statutes. An unlicensed person who violates the statute commits a first-degree misdemeanor, while repeat violations or those committed during a declared state of emergency rise to third-degree felonies. The state may also issue a stop-work order for all unlicensed work on a project when statutory conditions are met.
The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which has run its own enforcement sweeps alongside sheriff's offices, says homeowners can search its records and verify licenses by name or license number. The agency has also conducted 88 public-outreach events, including participation at 20 disaster recovery centers, to educate residents about the risks of hiring unlicensed workers. DBPR notes that a Pinellas County operation following Hurricanes Helene and Milton reportedly saved homeowners from more than $250,000 in unlicensed-activity scams.
One limit on that consumer protection: DBPR says it cannot represent complainants in civil matters to recover fees already paid or to seek remedies for injuries, leaving homeowners who are scammed to pursue separate legal action on their own. Details on the 50 people arrested in this week's Hillsborough County operation, including any charges filed, are expected to be released as Sheriff Chronister's news conference unfolds.
