CFO Patronis Announces Arrest of Unlicensed Central Florida Contractor in $146,000 Post-Storm Fraud Scheme

MyFloridaCFO.com, December 6, 2022

WINTER PARK, Fla. - Today, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis announced the arrest of Ty Lamonte Hillman on charges of Organized Scheme to Defraud and four counts of Unlicensed Contracting for his alleged involvement in defrauding homeowners out of more than $146,000 following recent severe storms in the Central Florida area.

CFO Jimmy Patronis said, “Following storms, bad actors come out of the woodwork looking to make a quick buck, preying on homeowners during their greatest time of need. This type of fraud is despicable and is a plague on our state, driving up property insurance rates for all Floridians. That is why I launched two new property fraud squads in Tampa and Orlando to protect homeowners as they recover from a storm and track down fraudsters like this and put them in jail. This upcoming special session, I look forward to working with the Florida Legislature to install more consumer protections in Florida Law to combat insurance fraud in our state and hold bad actors accountable. Thank you to my fraud detectives and the Statewide Prosecutor for their hard work on this case.”

An investigation by CFO Patronis’ Central Florida Property and Casualty Insurance Fraud Squad revealed that Mr. Hillman procured business from homeowners in Orange County and Osceola County after their homes sustained damage from several severe storms in the area. Hillman allegedly misrepresented himself as a licensed contractor and collected more than $146,000 from the homeowners as a result of their settled property insurance claims. Hillman then allegedly absconded with the money and never repaired the respective properties.

Hillman was arrested on December 2nd and booked into the Orange County Jail. If convicted on all charges, he faces up to 15 years in prison. At the time of arrest, Hillman had an active warrant for Violation of Probation and was also charged with Operating a Vehicle with a Suspended License. The investigation was assisted by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) and will be prosecuted by the Office of the Statewide Prosecutor.

News article: https://myfloridacfo.com/news/pressreleases/details/2022/12/06/cfo-patronis-annoces-arrest-of-unlicensed