Fort Lauderdale-Area "Contractor Cops" In Pursuit Of Contractor Fraud

WTVJ-TV Channel 6 in South Florida recently ran a story of the duo working for the Broward County Sheriff's Office Contractor Fraud Unit who are sometimes referred to as "Batman & Robin" for the work they do in going after home improvement and repair contractors operating on the wrong side of the law. According to the Channel 6 online story:

• "A special team of detectives has been dedicated to going after contractors that customers have complained about in South Florida. [...] [Detective John] Beach and Deputy Dan Belyeu work together to stop contractors who do poor or illegal work or contractors who take the money and run. In addition to working for the sheriff's office, Beach is also a general contractor and Belyeu is an electrician. "It does lend a certain benefit to John and I having those capabilities to walk out and immediately recognize someone who may not be a licensed contractor," Belyeu said. Beach said he does specialized investigations into contractor fraud, and being a licensed general contractor gives him insight to the job."

For residents of Broward County, the Broward County Sheriff's Office Contractor and Licensing Fraud Unit can be reached at 954-659-3526. For the Channel 6 TV report, watch Contractor Cops.

For the online report, see Broward Detectives Investigate Bad Contractors.

Go here for the Broward Sheriff Office's Contractor Licensing and Fraud Unit, and go here for Florida's construction lien laws (sections 713.001 - 713.37).

Go here for other posts on contractor arrests by Broward Sheriff's Office.