State fines contractor accused of forgery, fraud for working without license

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The I-TEAM has uncovered new information about a Jacksonville contractor criminally charged with insurance fraud, forgery and grand theft. Wyatt Green of Storm Restoration Specialists has now been cited by the state for engaging in business as a contractor without a license. 

Investigators with Florida's Department of Business and Professional Regulations said Green was driving around in a work truck with a contractor's license number on it -- which is required by law. But the number isn't registered to Green, and the actual owner of this license won't comment on why Green was using his credential. 

I-TEAM INVESTIGATIONS ON WYATT GREEN:
April 16 | April 17

Since our first investigation on Green aired April 16, nearly a dozen people have come forward to the I-TEAM, claiming Green took their money and didn't complete the work. 

"You have customers out here hurting. I'm one of them," said homeowner Letticia Lee.

Lee’s complaint is one of several that led investigators with the office of Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis to file felony charges against Wyatt Green for forgery, organized fraud and grand theft.

Lee said after Hurricane Irma hit in September 2017, she contracted with Green's company, Storm Restoration Specialists, for a full renovation of her home. She said Green's workers tore her home apart but never returned to finish the work.

SLIDESHOW:
Photos of damage inside Letticia Lee's home

"They took up a carpet, they demolished a room," Lee showed us. "This was my guest room, there was a wall, a closet that they took down, the ceiling they had taken down."

Lee said the one thing Green did do was cash a $25,000 check from her insurance company. She claims Green forged her signature on the check in order to collect the money. 

"I asked my insurance company to send me a copy of the check," she told the I-TEAM. "Automatically, boom, this is not my signature, it was very -- it seemed though as a middle school, a child's handwriting, and my signature is very distinct."

Lee said everything in her house from top to bottom was supposed to be renovated -- including her roof damaged by Hurricane Irma -- but she said even that was not completed. And to this day, she experiences leaks. She said the mold and mildew are affecting her health. 

"Health wise, I have sinus infections. Mentally, I don't want to come into my home because there's nothing they can do," she said. "It really hurts bad that he got over on me like that, and I never got anything done. To this day, to this day, I only have one wall and ceiling fixed out of a whole home of renovation."  

Green told us last week that he takes full responsibility for all the allegations, but for homeowners like Lee who have been waiting for two years to get their homes fixed, they tell us the admission means nothing. Lee said she's still out $25,000 in insurance money and can't afford to fix her home.

Monday, Green's lawyer entered a written plea of not guilty to the felony charges of forgery, fraud and grand theft.. If Green is convicted on all charges, he faces up to 35 years behind bars. 

As for the state's civil citation for contracting without a license, Green can either pay the $1,000 fine or appeal.