Fraud Wave Expected in Southwest Florida as Hurricane Money Arrives

Kathryn Schweitzer worked recently in the yard in front of her small, yellow house in a North Port neighborhood where mildewing furniture, drywall and other personal belongings line the streets, the remains of destruction left behind by Hurricane Ian.

Schweitzer tries to shrug off the $8,000 she’s paid so far "just to get the walls back" in her flood-damaged home, because "if you can’t cry, you get to laugh." She had been putting repair costs on credit cards, but said she’s been approved for $20,000 in federal relief money.

That’s the good news. The bad news is, the aid won’t go far given the extent of damage and rising repair costs.

What’s more, Schweitzer, her neighbors and a host of other Gulf Coast homeowners are now potential targets for unscrupulous contractors, fraud artists and scammers looking to cash in on people desperate to get their lives back on track and the billions of dollars in insurance money and government aid flowing in to Florida.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved more than $45.4 million in assistance to Sarasota County alone. Another $55.5 million is approved in Charlotte County and $11 million in Manatee.