State busts 11 unlicensed contractors in Manatee

MANATEE COUNTY — The Florida Department of Financial Services, after a three-day sting operation, charged 11 people in Manatee County for unlicensed contracting and engaging in construction work without workers' compensation insurance.

The sting called for contractors to perform services at an uninhabited home in Manatee County, according to a release from the Department of Financial Services. The Division of Insurance Fraud, in partnership with the Department of Business & Professional Regulation, the Manatee County Sheriff's Office, Holmes Beach Police Department and Manatee County Code Enforcement executed the sting.

Each of the 11 suspects was fined by local code enforcement, the release states, and each suspect was issued a cease and desist order. The defendants are: