SARASOTA — Hurricane Ian may have delivered the first punch to residents of the Venice Isles Estates, but Sarasota sheriff's investigators say Justin Hoover landed the second hit.
When Jackie Drewing returned to the mobile home park after the September 2022 storm tore through, she found her patio, carport, and vehicle destroyed.
Her neighbor, Jaque Albers, told ABC Action News the Category 5 hurricane left the park looking like a war zone, tearing away her carport and shed.
Both women hired Hoover to make repairs. But those repairs were never done, despite him receiving payments for the work.
Deputies arrested Hoover on February 13th, five months after the I-Team exposed allegations against him. He's facing 71 felony charges and is accused of taking more than $100,000 dollars from storm victims.
Drewing said she lost $6,000 to Hoover. Albers said she also paid him a $6,000 deposit toward the replacement of her carport. The women and their neighbors, all seniors, say they had to pay twice to get their homes fixed.
“Oh, it was devastating," Albers said. "I mean, it's a lot of money.”
Several victims told ABC Action News they don’t hold out any hope of getting their money back, but they would like to see Hoover convicted and sentenced to a lengthy prison term.
It is not Hoover’s first arrest. In 2021, he pleaded guilty to grand theft and unlawful acts in the capacity of a contractor in Hillsborough County.
He remains in the Sarasota Jail on more than $300,000 bond.
