There are more than 100 people, including at least 41 illegal immigrants, are being rounded off in Florida for allegedly looting and scamming victims of hurricanes Helene and Milton, local law enforcement officials said.
Looting patrols in Pinellas County over the last three weeks rounded up 45 suspects on 68 charges that included armed robbery, burglary, loitering and prowling, grand theft, vandalism and trespassing, according to the press release of Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri.
"They’re going into people's homes, they’re taking stuff, they’re rummaging through their things," Gualtieri said.
Another 58 suspects were arrested in an operation allegedly targeting suspicious and unlicensed contractors. Gualtieri said their scams mostly involved billing victims a total of US$ 250 million for repairs they never intended to do.
"This is the epitome of people trying to exploit others when they’re down and when they’re out, and they’re trying to rebuild and they’ve got nothing," Gualtieri said.
Gualtieri added that one suspect even had business cards to impersonate a legitimate contracting company.
"People offering to do work on their property, but, in some cases, have no intention of doing the work. In other cases, are unqualified to do the work and, in all of these cases, are unlicensed to do the work," Gualtieri said.
Of the 45 suspects arrested by anti-looting patrols across the Pinellas County barrier islands, at least 41 of the suspects are illegal immigrants, Gualtieri said at a press conference Thursday. He said nearly all of the suspects were from South America or Central America.