Couple that allegedly falsely advertised themselves on Facebook as licensed contractors in Monroe County

A couple that allegedly falsely advertised themselves on Facebook as licensed contractors in Monroe County and took money for home repairs without completing them in the Lower Keys and Key West has been charged with several offenses.

Julie Lynn Moore, 58, and Mark Morales, 54, were arrested January 14 following an investigation by State Attorney’s Office Investigator Frank Zamora in partnership with Key West Code Compliance Officer Sophia Dotoche and Investigator Mark Terrill from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Moore and Morales are each charged with two counts of unlicensed contracting and one count each of grand theft and misleading advertising.

In one case, they allegedly posted their services on Facebook under the name Paul Brown Roof Repairs, writing in all capital letters, “Do you have issues with your roof? No insurance money!!! Let us help you … Free inspection! We can help for a fraction of the cost!” The posting listed three telephone numbers.

That led to a Summerland Key man contacting them and entering into a $7,500 contract with Morales for roof repairs on October 12, 2018. Zamora wrote in his arrest affidavit that the homeowner gave Moore a $3,750 check as a deposit and she cashed it.

But Morales “never showed up to do the work,” Zamora wrote. A Monroe County building permit was never pulled for the job and DPBR records show Morales and Moore never had Florida contracting licenses.

In another case, on March 28, 2018, the owner of a home on Josephine Street in Key West hired Moore and Morales to repair his roof for $14,500 and he gave Moore a $7,000 deposit, with the rest due upon completion of the job. Zamora wrote in his arrest affidavit that “Morales would come around and do some work.”

On May 30 that year, Morales asked the homeowner for more money to buy roofing materials. The homeowner wrote a check to Morales for $1,240 but the roofing job was never completed.

In another case, a Big Coppitt Key homeowner entered into an agreement with Morales to do roof repairs and on February 27, 2018, the homeowner gave Morales a $3,600 check, a deposit for the total agreed-upon amount of $7,200. Morales performed some minor repairs and on July 31, 2018, the homeowner gave him $3,000 more for roofing materials.

“A few weeks went by and Morales never returned to continue the work and he did not purchase the material,” Zamora wrote in his affidavit.

Key West Code Compliance officers have cited Morales more than once for conducting business without a contracting license.

Moore lists a Georgia town as her home and Morales lists a United Street address in Key West as his home.

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