He defrauded Manatee County residents. Now he has to pay them back

A man was sentenced to 50 months behind bars and ordered to pay thousands of dollars in restitution after investigators found he defrauded Manatee County residents.

On Nov. 6, Jeremy Stotz, working as Manasota Fence LLC, was sentenced to 50 months — or just over four years — of incarceration, followed by three years probation and was ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution, according to the State Attorney’s Office.

Between March 4 and April 24, Stotz, who is not a licensed contractor, entered into several contracts with Parrish-area residents, according to the State Attorney’s Office.

Residents complained to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office after several weeks of non-performance.

The sheriff’s office investigation found that Stotz did not do any work, defrauding the customers of more than $10,000, according to the State Attorney’s Office.

“The State Attorney cautions anyone who is hiring someone to perform work on their home. It is important to hire licensed, reputable, qualified contractors to perform any repairs,” Assistant State Attorney Andrew van Sickle, who prosecuted the case, said in a statement. “If you have any questions as to a person’s qualifications to go www.myfloridalicense.com and verify their license.”

Earlier this month, two men were sentenced on Nov. 1 for failure to secure worker’s compensation after entering a plea of no contest, according to the State Attorney’s Office.

Alvin Cortez and Scottie Elliot were sentenced to 12 months probation and ordered to enroll in and complete a worker’s compensation class, court records show.

According to the State Attorney’s Office, Elliot and Cortez contracted with several Bradenton residents to do roof repairs between May 31, 2013, and June 20, 2014.

When an employee was injured on a job site, investigators found Elliot and Cortez had not obtained the proper worker’s compensation insurance.

The State Attorney’s Office also recovered $124,000 for Bradenton-based business Howard Leasing, IV, Inc., which manages tax compliance, benefits, payroll, workers’ comp and human resource challenges, according to the business’ website.

This story was originally published November 8, 2017 at 2:54 PM with the headline "He defrauded Manatee County residents. Now he has to pay them back."