An Arizona man whom authorities say collected thousands of dollars for unfinished bathroom remodels has been arrested in Florida.
Robert Green, 37, formerly of Gilbert, was apprehended outside a restaurant and bar in Orlando on an arrest warrant issued in Maricopa County.
How to find the best contractor. In Arizona, you can search azroc.gov to find reports on contractors before you sign a contract.
He was on the Arizona Registrar of Contractors' Most Wanted list. The U.S. Marshals Service and the Orlando Police Department worked to track him down.
A warrant was issued after Green failed to appear for a pretrial conference last October related to a case in Maricopa County Superior Court, where he stands accused of one felony charge stemming from a Contractors Office investigation that found he contracted without a license yet represented to homeowners that he was licensed. The investigation determined that Green took in more than $72,000 for bathroom remodels, did some labor but later abandoned the work.
According to the Registrar of Contractors office, Green ran Desertscape Designs LLC and operated in Gilbert, Mesa, Tempe and Goodyear.
The Contractors Office received five other complaints about Green. According to those complaints, some homeowners assumed he was licensed based on his professional-looking website and gave him a combined $14,700. Investigators found that he collected money yet performed little or no work before disappearing.
According to the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, Green was booked as an out-of-state fugitive and may not be bailed.
The Registrar of Contractors' Most Wanted list names 17 men and one woman, 13 of whom have been arrested, with a few facing prosecution and sentencing.
Reach the reporter at [email protected] or 602-444-8616.
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