A Naples business owner has agreed to pay a $100,000 fine for his involvement in a permit fraud scheme.
The state’s Board of Architecture and Interior Design approved the settlement with Octavio Sarmiento and his company, ASSA Designs LLC, at a general meeting on April 21.
The board is responsible for licensing and regulating the two professions in its name statewide. It’s intertwined with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR).
According to the minutes for the April meeting, Sarmiento faced a fine of up to $425,000, a recommendation that came out of a probable cause hearing last summer.
The recommended fine stemmed from a 107-count administrative complaint, with 53 counts for practicing architecture without a license, one count for using the title of architect, and 53 counts for using the license of another architect.
The complaint centers around the illegal use of an architectural seal belonging to Gene Cravillion, who is not only retired, but suffers from late-stage dementia. In his 90s, Cravillion has lived in a memory care center in Naples since 2022, unable to come and go.
The scheme involves hundreds of plans submitted to Collier County and to the cities of Naples and Marco Island for residential and commercial projects by multiple businesses and professionals, using Cravillion’s seal, without his permission, or knowledge.
The fine could have been heftier against design firm
Meeting minutes show the Board of Architecture and Interior Design reduced the fine against Sarmiento and his company to avoid the cost of a formal hearing, likened to a trial.
The notes reflect he had already made his first payment.
On top of the fine, Sarmiento was ordered to pay $3,435 to cover the board’s investigative costs.
Neither Sarmiento, nor his attorney attended the hearing. They could not be reached for comment, and they haven’t commented publicly about the fraud accusations in the past.
The permit fraud came to light when a North Naples resident discovered the suspicious activity after getting into a dispute with her home’s builder over design and construction errors. She reported what she saw to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation and Collier County, which triggered an investigation involving local, state and federal agencies, including the FBI.
A criminal case is still pending.
Others connected to the fraud fined for their roles
At the same meeting in April, the Board of Architecture and Interior Design voted to fine others for their involvement in the permit scheme. The others include:
Board minutes show both Pinilla and Trujillo had their fines reduced from $3,000 because it was their first offense, and they were counseled on the law by their attorneys and came into compliance.
In a fourth case, the board wasn’t so lenient, levying a $30,000 fine against Linda L. Levin and Argon Associates Ltd., based on a six-count complaint, and imposing costs of nearly $1,650 for its investigation.
Board minutes show the fine is the maximum amount allowed, and the board unanimously agreed to it, considering it an “egregious” case and finding that Levin was “aiding and abetting unlicensed architecture by stamping multiple plans.”
Levin didn’t respond to the complaint. Neither she nor her attorney attended the hearing.
The board has asked that her case be referred to the Florida State Attorney’s Office for further action.
Other cases tied to the permit fraud have been settled or closed. That includes a case against David Wainscott and Wainscott Designs, who agreed in a settlement to pay a $50,000 fine for 63 counts of practicing architecture without a license, plus costs, which the state board unanimously approved in January.
Board minutes note that Wainscott has agreed to be a witness in the federal case against Sarmiento.
State records show Wainscott has a history of unlicensed activity, working as an engineer and architect in Collier County. However, he’s pointed the finger at Sarmiento for the fraud involving Cravillion’s seal.
Separately, Wainscott has sued Sarmiento in Collier Circuit Court, seeking damages for the out-of-pocket costs he’s incurred and the reputational harm he’s suffered because of the fraud. The case is still pending.
In his answer to the civil suit, Sarmiento confirmed a monthly arrangement with Wainscott for architectural services, and the associated costs, but denied any wrongdoing.
The Florida Building Code requires most residential and commercials plans to be signedand sealed by a licensed professional, architect or engineer.
Son distraught over misuse of his father’s architectural seal
Last summer, Tom Cravillion opened up about the misuse of his elderly father’s architectural seal.
He said that based on all the evidence he’s seen and heard it appears Sarmiento collected a fee from his customers for architectural services, while taking a “finder’s fee” from contractors who used the stamp, so he was “skimming on it twice,” with access to both a physical and a digital stamp that didn’t belong to him.
With his dementia “too far gone,” Tom said his father couldn’t understand what was going on or defend himself. The dementia, he said, began clouding his dad’s business decisions back in 2011.
While the fraud has been caught and there are consequences for those involved, maybe even prison time, Cravillion said it’s unfortunate that his father will not get anything out of it as the real victim.
Fees and fines imposed by the Board of Architecture and Interior Design go into a Professional Regulation Trust Fund, which supports the Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s activities, including investigations and enforcement actions.
“I think the real crime is that the victims are not entitled to any of the fines imposed,” Cravillion said. “It gets put into a ‘slush fund.'”
Laura Layden is a senior business and government reporter. Reach her by email at laura.layden@naplesnews.com.
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This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Naples business owner fined $100,000 for using ‘stolen’ architect seal
Reporting by Laura Layden, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
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