TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A Quincy man has been arrested, accused of committing grand theft and of falsely presenting himself as a licensed contractor.
William W. Suber, 36, was booked into the Leon County Detention Center on Sunday and remained there Monday on $7,500 bond.
The charges are grand theft of $20,000 but less than $100,000 (committed March 30, 2017); grand theft of $300 or more but less than $5,000 (June 19, 2017); and engaging in contracting without certification (March 30, 2017).
The complaint against Suber stems from a contract he made with the victim, a woman, to build onto her home a two-car garage with an apartment above it.
Suber had earlier done repair work for the woman following Hurricane Hermine in 2016.
The woman, according to a probable cause affidavit, told the Tallahassee Police Department investigator her insurance agent had recommended Suber to her as a licensed contractor.
On March 30, 2017, the woman gave Suber a $20,711.65 check to pay for one-fourth of the estimated price of the two-car garage construction.
She understood the money was to be used to begin construction, buy materials, pull permits and conduct the required studies.
The work did not begin until May 3, 2017, because of an issue with the plumber.
Over the course of the work, court documents show, some of Suber's sub-contractors were not paid at all, some received partial payments, and some were paid with checks that bounced.
In at least one case, to avoid a lien on her property, the victim paid a sub-contractor who should have been paid by Suber from the money she had paid Suber.
An administrator with Florida's Department of Business and Professional Regulation told the TPD investigator that Suber had never had the license as a contractor as required by law.
The FDBPR administrator said that Suber was given a cease and desist order in January 2017 - two months before engaging in his contract with the victim - and that the administrator had several cases against Suber.
The court document did not indicate whether the victim's construction project was completed.
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