Upper Keys man was jailed Oct. 11 on charges alleging he engaged in the contracting business without being licensed

An Upper Keys man was jailed Oct. 11 on charges alleging he engaged in the contracting business without being licensed, resulting in the loss of thousands of dollars for two people.

Monroe County State Attorney’s Office Investigator Roy Bogue brought the charges against Francisco Thomas Ruiz, 49, of Key Largo. Judge Sharon Hamilton issued arrest warrants for Ruiz on Sept. 14.

In one case, a resident of Mohawk Street in Tavernier entered into an agreement with Ruiz to install a vinyl fence on his property. The job was to cost $8,100 for materials, labor and the permit from Monroe County, plus any additional cost for gates.

The homeowner paid Ruiz a $6,000 cash deposit on June 16 and received a receipt, then paid an additional $700 advance on June 22 for Ruiz to drill fence post holes. The following day, Ruiz drilled “several” holes, but that “was the last work Ruiz completed on the project,” Bogue wrote in his arrest affidavit.

No permit was pulled and no materials were delivered to the homeowner’s house. The $6,000 was supposed to cover those two things.

Following some text exchanges, Ruiz agreed to refund the $6,700 and the homeowner received a check for that amount on July 23. However, the Capital Bank check bounced, meaning there were insufficient funds to cover it, so the homeowner was out the $6,700.

In the other case, a homeowner on Bee Street in Tavernier signed a contract with Ruiz, also on June 16, to repair or replace fencing in her back yard. The job was to cost $4,100. That day, the homeowner wrote a $2,500 check to Ruiz as a deposit.

On July 3, a worker for Ruiz did some prep work (removing mosquito netting, electrical outlets and waterspouts) and the homeowner cut a check for $175. On July 18, she issued another check for $613.81 for a dumpster to be place on the property, which it was that day.

A worker took down some of the homeowner’s fencing on July 28 and on Aug. 15, some of the new fencing material was delivered to the property. The next day, the material was moved to the backyard and that was the last of the work completed. The entire project from when the deposit check was written, June 16, was supposed to take 10 days, Bogue wrote in his arrest affidavit.

In several back-and-forth texts over the next several weeks, Ruiz kept making excuses for why the job wasn’t done. Then on Aug. 16, the homeowner received from the company that provided the dumpster a notice of lien on her house because the checks Ruiz wrote to the company bounced.

The homeowner finally told Ruiz she no longer wanted him to do the work and demanded he refund the money she paid minus the cost of the materials delivered. He texted her he would send her a check for $3,300 but she never received it.

She again demanded, via certified mail, a refund of $3,113.71. Ruiz again texted that he sent a check but she never received it, Bogue wrote.

In both cases, Bogue confirmed Ruiz isn’t licensed to be a contractor in Monroe County. Also in both cases, the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation provided letters of “non-licensure” for Ruiz from the agency’s Division of Regulation.

Bogue charged Ruiz with two misdemeanor counts of engaging in the contracting business without being licensed to do so.

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