Bankrupt Sarasota business owner faces 2 felony charges

The owner of Sash & Sill, a Sarasota window and door company that went out of business and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy a year ago, has been charged in Charlotte County with two felonies related to work that was never completed. Todd Hoch, 47, of Nokomis, is charged with two counts of violating state law around “moneys received by contractors,” court documents say. 

Police contend Hoch accepted a roughly $21,000 deposit from a Punta Gorda homeowner but never did any work nor pulled any permits. In Port Charlotte, authorities say the same thing happened, after a couple issued a $12,000 down payment for work on their home.

In the Punta Gorda case, court documents say, Hoch accepted a deposit of $21,054.50 in March 2024 for a windows and door replacement project estimated at more than $42,000.

The homeowner received an email from Hoch on July 10, 2024, stating Sash & Sill would be closing and filing for bankruptcy but would complete as many projects as possible. The homeowner then sent certified mail to Hoch on July 31, 2024, demanding he “immediately apply for the necessary permits, start and complete the window installation or refund the $21,054.50 deposit,” court documents say.

By Sept. 20, 2024, police said no permit applicants had been filed, Sash & Sill had not started the contracted work, and the company had not refunded the deposit. In this case, police allege Hoch violated state law that says a “contractor who receives money for repair, restoration, addition, improvement or construction … may not fail or refuse to perform any work for any 90-day period.” The charge filed is a second-degree felony, according to police.

In Port Charlotte, authorities allege Hoch committed a third-degree felony by violating the Florida statute requiring contractors who collect more than 10% of the contract price to apply for permits for the work within 30 days or to start the work within 90 days after permits were issued.

A Port Charlotte couple paid Sash & Sill the $12,502.50 down payment for a $25,000 replacement window job at their home in April 2024, according to investigators. After three months passed with no activity, the customers reached a Sash & Sill representative, who said the work would begin in August 2024, according to the affidavit for Hoch’s arrest. The job included installing nine PGT windows and one PGT slider, the affidavit says, and company officials gave different reasons for the delay, in one case citing COVID supply chain issues and in another saying it was the season and there were many installations happening at the same time.

On July 10, 2024, according to the affidavit, the couple received an email from the company stating: "It is with a heavy heart that I announce that Sash & Sill has closed its doors permanently. This difficult decision comes because of unforeseen circumstances that have significantly impacted our financial stability, forcing us to file bankruptcy."

After contacting Charlotte County and learning no permits had been pulled for the project, the Port Charlotte couple sent a certified letter with a return receipt requesting a refund on July 15, 2024, but they did not receive a return response, the affidavit says. The detective investigating the case also found Sash & Sill never applied for permits at the couple’s address.

“It should be noted that Todd Hoch had 37 complaints filed against him in Sarasota County for taking money and not doing the work,” the affidavit in the Port Charlotte case says.

The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the status of its investigation. Neither did the Florida Attorney General's Office, which a year ago told the Business Observer it had received approximately 50 complaints about Sash & Sill and Hoch.

A warrant for Hoch’s arrest in the Port Charlotte case was issued in late June 2025, and Hoch was released after posting a $5,000 bond, according to court records.

Hoch’s arraignment in both the Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda cases is scheduled for Aug. 25 at the Charlotte County Justice Center.

Hoch is pleading not guilty to the charges, his attorney says in an email to the Business Observer.

In August 2024, Hoch filed for personal bankruptcy and Sash & Sill filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy. That month, the Sarasota County General Contractors Licensing and Examining Board also found Hoch guilty of fraud, abandonment and taking money for construction but not applying for a permit or starting work, following a complaint from a homeowner who deposited $19,560 for windows and doors that were not received. The penalty was Hoch not being allowed to pull permits in Sarasota County.

"I would like to offer my deepest condolences to the customers of Sash & Sill whose projects were not completed," Hoch said in a prepared statement issued to the Business Observer last August after the board hearing in Sarasota County. "It has been the most difficult situation that I have ever gone through. I am deeply heartbroken."

This article has been updated to reflect that Todd Hoch's attorney says his client will plead not guilty to the charges.