More than 100 people, including at least 41 illegal immigrants, have been arrested in Florida for allegedly looting and scamming victims of hurricanes Helene and Milton, local law enforcement officials said.
Looting patrols in Pinellas County over the last three weeks rounded up 45 suspects on 68 charges that included armed robbery, burglary, loitering and prowling, grand theft, vandalism and trespassing, according to Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri.
“They’re going into people’s homes, they’re taking stuff, they’re rummaging through their things,” Gualtieri said.
Another 58 suspects were arrested in an operation allegedly targeting unlicensed contractors. Gualtieri said their scams mostly involved billing victims a total of $250 million for repairs they never intended to do.
“This is the epitome of people trying to exploit others when they’re down and when they’re out, and they’re trying to rebuild and they’ve got nothing,” Gualtieri said.
Of the 45 suspects arrested by anti-looting patrols across the Pinellas County barrier islands, at least 41 of the suspects are illegal immigrants, Gualtieri said at a press conference Thursday. He said nearly all of the suspects were from South America or Central America.
Suspects arrested in the contracting scams typically offered to do projects, including