Roofing contractor arrested in Charlotte County for working without a license

The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man they say was running a roofing business without a license.

Terence Duque, 48, was arrested on Friday after the Charlotte County Economic Crimes Unit received a call from an investigator at the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

An investigator with the sheriff’s office learned that Duque’s company, Duque Roofing, was in Charlotte County and conducting business without a Florida license. They also learned that a homeowner had already agreed to a contract.

Deputies located Duque’s trucks at the community center and spoke with him there. They say Duque claimed a read the governor’s State of Emergency order regarding contractors and understood it to mean that contractors from out of state were permitted to work in Florida.

He also told deputies that an employee had made contact with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation and that the representative had given him permission to conduct business in Florida. CCSo said Duque could not provide the name of the representative.

“Ignorance is not an excuse. If you are in Charlotte County, doing business with the people of this community, you had better be on the up-and-up and have the appropriate licensing and insurance. These people have been through enough, and I will not allow unlicensed contractors to further victimize them,” said Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell in a release about the arrest.

Duque was arrested and is facing a charge of conducting business in Charlotte County without a Florida license.