Scams Now Targeting Construction Supply Businesses, Too – Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office

Francesco Abbruzzino, The Uncensored Report, LLC

 

CCSO

New contractor scams are popping up in Charlotte County, this time targeting businesses and construction materials suppliers.

In the wake of any major storm or damaging event, scammers come out of the woodwork to prey on those who desperately seek repairs. The scammers typically target individuals, promising contractor work at lower prices or faster response times. Recently, the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office has noticed a trend of scams that shift the focus to businesses who supply materials for these types of jobs (paint, roofing materials, etc.).

In these new scams, large orders for construction materials are placed and paid with a credit card, which is stolen. Since credit card payments typically take two to three days to process, scammers hire a courier service to pick up the materials immediately and deliver them to an address where the scammers can collect the items and redistribute them at lower costs. By the time the stolen card payment is discovered and reported, they have already taken the materials and left the area.

An example of this resulted in the arrest of Nelson Jeovany Hernandez Gonzalez (7/15/1996) on October 2, 2024. Gonzalez made a large purchase of paint supplies at a Port Charlotte Sherwin Williams store, utilizing a business charge account. The total amount was $4,746.31. Through investigation, it was found that Gonzalez was fraudulently using the business charge account and reselling the paint to other contractors at a lower cost. It was discovered that Gonzalez had attempted this in Lee County, but the stores there would not sell him the large amounts he was trying to purchase all at once.

“We know the scammers are out there and waiting to take advantage of people in their desperation. What I want Charlotte County to know is that we are watching and we are stopping these scams as we find them. Unfortunately, it’s like a game of Whack-a-Mole, with another popping up as soon as we eliminate one. Please be vigilant and be smart!”

Sheriff Bill Prummell

To protect your business, the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office advises all vendors who supply materials of this nature to place a hold on items ordered in large quantities until the payments are cleared. If you believe this has already happened to you, please call our non-emergency number (941) 639-2101 and report it.