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Unlicensed contractor arrested for stealing more than $100,000 from Hurricane Ian victims

An unlicensed contractor is now behind bars and facing 71 felony charges after stealing thousands of dollars from hurricane victims.

Hurricane Ian demolished Becky Starnes’ carport, peeling the aluminum roof back like a can opener. The storm also tore apart her screen room. “It was just kind of folded up all the way back, and it was open all the way to almost to the door,” Starnes said. The retired teacher hired an aluminum worker she’d met through friends.

By: Jackie Callaway

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An unlicensed contractor is now behind bars and facing 71 felony charges after stealing thousands of dollars from hurricane victims.

Sarasota sheriff's deputies arrested Justin Hoover this week. The 45-year-old went on the run last year after I-team investigator Jackie Callaway exposed allegations that he took money from dozens of Hurricane Ian victims for work that was never done.

Hoover, the owner of J & J Screens, is accused of stealing more than $100,000 dollars from dozens of mobile home owners in Sarasota. One of the charges, a scheme to defraud, is a first-degree felony.

Hoover is already a convicted felon. He pled guilty in 2021 to grand theft and unlawful acts in the capacity of a contractor in Hillsborough County.

Sarasota sheriff's deputies arrested Hoover this week, and he remains in jail.

Read the original I-Team Investigation here