The Shields Painting Difference: Perfection with Every Brush Stroke
Many painting companies in Florida rely on flashy marketing and big promises to try and attract new clients. But when it comes time to work, they fall short of their promises. This is often due to a lack of experience, qualified painters, and a drive to overachieve. At Shields Painting, we do things a little differently than other painting companies in Citrus County. We believe that a professional paint job should be as close to perfect as possible. Our goal is to leave you 100% satisfied, whether we're touching up an old residential paint job or performing a complex commercial project. It might sound simple, but we achieve that goal through honesty, hard work, beautiful results, and reasonable pricing.
As a family-owned and operated painting company in Sparr, FL, we strive to provide personalized, professional, and friendly service. Shields Painting has been in business since 1968 for a good reason. Whenever possible, we go the extra mile to make sure our customers are happy. Unlike some of our competition, we want to know all about your house or business painting project: your vision, your preferences, your challenges, and your goals. When we understand your needs, we can present you with a fantastic final product - one that you're proud to show off to friends and neighbors.
At Shields Painting, we combine our extensive experience with time-tested, meticulous painting processes, resulting in the highest quality painting results around. As a painting contractor in Citrus County, we can take on a variety of residential, commercial, and industrial projects in Florida.
A few of our most popular painting services include:
- Interior Painting
- Exterior Painting
- Residential Painting
- Commercial Painting
- Cabinet Painting
- Ceiling Painting
- Fence Painting
- Sign Painting
- MUCH More!
Our commercial, industrial, and residential painting contractors take the proper steps to protect your property and belongings while we work. Our team will clean up after ourselves, so your property is left clean and free of debris when we're done. After all, we think there's only one way to do a job, and that's the right way.
Painting Services

Eco-friendly & clean work area.

PDCA Certified Member.

Your Go-To House Painting Company in Sparr, FL
Your home is a haven of relaxation and solitude. It is uniquely you - a place where you can express who you are through style and design. Whether you need interior touch-ups for your crown molding or a new exterior coat of paint, hiring a reliable painting contractor is the best way to get quality results.
At Shields Painting, we know how important it is to have a home that highlights your tastes and personality. That's why we offer an extensive array of residential painting services in Citrus County. As tempting as it might be to try a DIY paint job, without the proper skills and experience, there is a good chance that the results will turn out less than satisfactory.
High-quality painting requires skill, experience, and patience. If you're a homeowner who needs residential painting services but doesn't have the time, patience, or skills to handle the job, look no further than Shields Painting. We offer accuracy, precision, and longevity with each paint job we perform. Our customers choose Shields Painting for their home because they receive:
- Free Quotes with Detailed Project Breakdowns
- Affordable Pricing
- Expert Painting Contractors
- High-Quality Paint Products
- Combo of Traditional and Modern Techniques
- Well-Maintained Tools
- Unmatched Craftsmanship
- Friendly, Personalized Service
- Good Old-Fashioned Hard Work!
The majority of our house painting services come in two forms: interior and exterior.
Interior Residential Painting
As an interior painting contractor with decades of experience, our expert technicians have developed an interior painting process that maximizes quality and emphasizes customer satisfaction. We understand that interior painting goes beyond aesthetics. It protects your ceilings and walls and helps you sustain a healthier place to live for your family. When only the finest craftsmanship will do inside your home, Shields Painting is here for you.
Our seasoned team of painting experts and craftsmen is dedicated to respecting your space and providing you with the look and feel you're craving inside your home. Whether you bought a new house and want to make it your own or need minor touch-ups but have no time, Shields Painting is ready to tackle the job, no matter how small or large.
Unlike some painting companies, our interior house painters take the time to get the details right, every time. For instance, color is only one aspect of your interior paint job. The paint sheen or finish is just as important. Certain finishes are better for living rooms and bedrooms than in kitchens and bathrooms. We'll help you find the right finish and paint colors for your home, so you don't have to worry about touch-ups or repainting.
Some of our most popular interior house painting services include:
- Ceiling Painting
- Popcorn Ceiling Removal
- Living Room Painting
- Bathroom Painting
- Basement Painting
- Color Consultations
- More

Cabinet Painting
Citrus County cabinet painting deserves its own section on this page because it requires more time, skill, and quality paint than most sections of your home. If your home's cabinets are built into its woodwork, replacing them can be obnoxiously expensive. Compared to the cost of installing new cabinets, painting your kitchen cabinets is much more affordable.
At Shields Painting, we specialize in transforming old cabinets into new, gorgeous features that are just as usable as they are beautiful. Each step of our cabinet painting process is meticulous and thorough. And we'll take care of the entire job, from cleaning, prep, and sanding to priming, painting, and reassembly. This unique service lets you enjoy a brand-new look in your kitchen without having to go into debt by replacing your cabinets.
Whether your cabinets are new, but you want to change their color or you'd like to transition wood cabinets to a painted finish, Shields Painting has the expertise and experience to give you a new look you'll love.

Exterior Residential Painting
Your home - it's a place that not only keeps your belongings safe. It protects your family and loved ones, too. It's one of your largest investments, and like anything else of value, it should be protected. However, Florida weather can take a toll on your home's structure and paint, lowering your home's value and even putting your family at risk.
While it's true that a beautiful exterior affects your house's value, it shouldn't take thousands of remodeling dollars to make a positive change to your home. There's a fine line between reasonable pricing and top-quality painting, and that sweet spot is what Shields Painting aims for. If you want to transform how your friends and neighbors see your home, never underestimate the power of a professional paint job.
Our exterior residential painting services are designed to boost curb appeal, give your home a fresh look, and help it stand up to Florida's unique weather. But we provide more than that. When you hire Shields Painting for your outdoor painting project, you will enjoy peace of mind in knowing that your home is in truly capable hands. Our goal is to exceed your expectations and help bring out the best in your property, whether you need to re-stain your deck or remove old, peeling paint from your siding.
If you're on the hunt for the very best exterior painting contractor in Sparr, FL, look no further than Shields Painting.
Some of our most popular exterior house painting services include:
- Vinyl Siding Painting
- Deck Painting and Staining
- Stucco Exterior Painting
- Wood Exterior Painting
- Porch Painting and Staining
- Soffit Painting
- Fascia Painting
- Window Painting
- Front Door Painting
- Thorough Painting Prep
- More

The Premier Commercial Painting Company in Sparr, FL
When it comes to first impressions, your businesses' appearance plays an important role. Your commercial property's paint job factors into its overall aesthetics. A great-looking, well-maintained paint job can mean the difference between a customer walking in your storefront and passing by. Conversely, an old, worn-out commercial paint job can send the wrong message to prospective customers. If you can't take the time to keep up your property's appearance, why would a customer spend their hard-earned money on your products?
The same goes for your businesses' interior paint. Would you want to do business with a company that has peeling paint or unsightly crown molding? At Shield's Painting, our goal is to create a beautiful environment that your customers and employees will love inside and out. When you work with our business painters, you can rest easy knowing we treat your business like it were our own. We always clean up after ourselves and know that operations cannot come to a halt just because we're painting. As such, we'll work with your busy schedule to ensure the job gets done right the first time without disrupting your day-to-day commitments.
With decades of commercial painting experience, we know the demands of a commercial painting project necessitate a disciplined and focused approach from the start. Our team of business painters is committed to delivering quality, on-time results on every project, every time - no excuses

We offer professional business painting services to a variety of building types, including:

01
Industrial Painting
A high level of care and finesse are required to effectively paint an industrial property. At Shields Painting, we know that industrial paint jobs involve much more than aesthetics. That's why our industrial services are customized to your specifications, using industrial-grade materials that stand up to heavy-duty operations.
02
Retail Store Painting
Our commercial painters apply effective, yet appealing interior and exterior paint that stand up to the daily rigors of busy retail environments.


03
Small Business Painting
Do you own a restaurant franchise? Have a small "mom and pop" location that needs a fresh coat of paint? Shields Painting has the resources and reliability to efficiently get the job done the first time. That way, you can focus on serving your customers, not having your business repainted.
04
Healthcare Location Painting
From walk-in clinics to long-term care facilities, Shields Painting is sensitive to your patients' needs. We know you must protect your patient's privacy while maintaining productivity. Our approach to healthcare location painting centers around your schedule to avoid disruptions in care.


05
Apartment Complex Painting
Erase signs of wear and make your apartment complex or multi-family building a more desirable place to live with a stunning, professional paint job.
Florida's Most Trusted Painting Contractor
Shields Painting has been in the business since 1968. In a world where so much has changed, we are proud to uphold the ideals that make us successful: hard, honest work, getting the job done right, and excellent customer service. Providing you with trustworthy, quality work will always take priority over rushing through a project to serve the next customer. That is just not the way we choose to do business.
As professionals dedicated to perfection, we strive to provide a unique painting experience for every customer - one that focuses on their needs and desires instead of our own. Whether you need residential painting for your home or commercial painting for your business, we encourage you to reach out today to speak with our customer service team. Whether you have big ideas about a new paint project or need our expertise and guidance, we look forward to hearing from you soon.

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Latest News in Sparr, FL
Ocala/Marion County students tell Matt Manatee what they like most about school
Ocala Star-Bannerhttps://www.ocala.com/story/news/education/2022/09/30/students-ocala-marion-county-florida-write-matt-manatee/8119076001/
Dear friends,I loved each and every one of your letters discussing your favorite part of school! As we have now entered the beautiful season of Fall, and the weather begins to cool down, I can’t help but wonder, friends, what is your favorite season? Perhaps Winter, because of the fun holidays and cold weather? Maybe Summer because school is out and days are filled with laughter and swimming! Whatever it may be, please let me know!Your friend,MattEditor's note: Please send letters, picture...
Dear friends,
I loved each and every one of your letters discussing your favorite part of school! As we have now entered the beautiful season of Fall, and the weather begins to cool down, I can’t help but wonder, friends, what is your favorite season? Perhaps Winter, because of the fun holidays and cold weather? Maybe Summer because school is out and days are filled with laughter and swimming! Whatever it may be, please let me know!
Your friend,
Matt
Editor's note: Please send letters, pictures and jokes to calendar@starbanner.com and write "Matt Manatee" in the message line. The deadline is 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7. A selection will be published on Friday, Oct. 21. We are not providing T-shirts any longer.
Dear Matt Manatee,
My favorite part of school is art. I get to paint cool things. Last year in art I remember that I made a hot cocoa cup with marshmallows that had smiley faces. This year I made an owl painting, and my art teacher loved it.
Your friend,
Ashlyn Shannon
Third grade, Ocala Springs Elementary School
Dear Matt,
My favorite part of school is recess! At recess I get to move my body, have fun, and play with my friends.
Your friend,
Alexandre Javier
Second grade, Marion Charter School
Dear Matt,
My favorite thing to do at school is reading. I like to read with friends and learn about history. It is also fun to read funny things!
Your friend,
Jacob D’Angelo
Second grade, Marion Charter School
Dear Matt,
My favorite thing to do at school is when we do math. I love learning about how to add numbers.
Your friend,
Giancarlos Orejuela
Second grade, Marion Charter School
Dear Matt,
My favorite thing about school is Science. The first reason is because I can be smart. The second reason is because I learn about Dinosaurs. The third reason is because I learn about sea life. It is easy to see why I like Science.
Your friend,
Carsyn Hamilton
Second grade, Sparr Elementary School
Dear Matt,
My favorite thing about school is math. The first reason is because it is fun. The second reason is because I am really good at it. The third reason is because I love math. It is easy to see why I like math.
Your friend,
Colton Goosey
Second grade, Sparr Elementary School
Dear Matt,
My favorite thing about school is recess. The first reason is because I run. The second reason is because I can play. The third reason is because I play kickball. It is easy to see why I like recess.
Your friend,
Gabriel Turbeville
Second grade, Sparr Elementary School
Heritage Capital Group Advises Sparr Building & Farm Supply in Sale
Heritage Capital Grouphttps://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/heritage-capital-group-advises-sparr-building--farm-supply-in-sale-301568794.html
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., June 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Heritage Capital Group, Inc. ("Heritage"), an investment banking and financial advisory firm serving middle-market and emerging growth companies in the US and worldwide, is pleased to announce that its client, Sparr Building & Farm Supply ("Sparr" or the "Company"), has been purchased by Nation's Best. ...
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., June 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Heritage Capital Group, Inc. ("Heritage"), an investment banking and financial advisory firm serving middle-market and emerging growth companies in the US and worldwide, is pleased to announce that its client, Sparr Building & Farm Supply ("Sparr" or the "Company"), has been purchased by Nation's Best.
Sparr Building & Farm Supply is a family business that has served customers in Central Florida for more than seven decades. The Company has four stores that blend the best characteristics of a lumber yard with a farm and ranch store. The Company's "one-stop-shop" experience makes it easy for customers to pick up livestock feed, animal nutrition products, fencing, lumber, lawn and garden, pet supplies, building materials, paint, and many other products. The rich equestrian history of Ocala, Florida also led Sparr to develop expertise in horse fencing and products.
Nation's Best is one of the country's fastest growing independent home improvement companies. Sparr will join Hall's Hardware & Lumber and Panhandle Lumber & Supply in Florida as Nation's Best extends its presence in the Southeast. As part of Nation's Best's strategy, Sparr Building & Farm Supply will maintain operations under its existing name with its key leadership team overseeing company operations alongside Nation's Best, which will provide the strategic and financial support necessary to drive optimal growth and profitability.
Heritage served as the exclusive financial advisor and intermediary to Sparr Building & Farm Supply. The deal team included Bill Nicholson and Doug Kravet.
"Doug and Bill had the perfect combination of M&A and real estate deal experience that we needed," commented Sam Howard and Paul Howard, owners of Sparr. "They helped us navigate a complex transaction and keep our team well-coordinated as we tackled both big and small issues. Looking back, it's hard to imagine completing this transaction without them."
Heritage Capital Group provides objective advice to private companies in the areas of mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, business valuations, debt and equity capital raises, corporate restructurings, and financial and strategic advisory services focused on enhancing the value of business enterprises. Heritage Capital Group is a FINRA registered broker-dealer, and a member of Oaklins, the world's most experienced mid-market M&A advisor, with 850 professionals globally and dedicated industry teams in 45 countries worldwide.
Media Contact:Katie Quackenbush904-354-9600337900@email4pr.com
SOURCE Heritage Capital Group
DeSantis announces 3 proposed initiatives aimed at Florida teacher recruitment, retention
Jada Williamshttps://www.abcactionnews.com/news/state/desantis-announces-3-proposed-initiatives-aimed-at-florida-teacher-recruitment-retention
Copy This Embed Code: Ad NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis announced three initiatives aimed at recruiting and retaining teachers in Florida, which will be proposed during the next legislative session.DeSantis said the initiatives include:RECOMMENDED: DeSantis announced the proposals from River Ridge High School in New Port Richey.Pasco County Schools entered the first week of classes with 350 teacher vacancies. Pasco Schools Superintendent Kurt Browning said one week l...
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NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis announced three initiatives aimed at recruiting and retaining teachers in Florida, which will be proposed during the next legislative session.
DeSantis said the initiatives include:
RECOMMENDED:
DeSantis announced the proposals from River Ridge High School in New Port Richey.
Pasco County Schools entered the first week of classes with 350 teacher vacancies. Pasco Schools Superintendent Kurt Browning said one week later, 195 openings remain.
"Which is much better, not as good as where we were this time last year," he said. "I believe that the initiatives that the governor is proposing today will go a very long way to helping us recruit and retain great teachers in Pasco classrooms."
Hillsborough Classroom Teacher's Association President Rob Kriete said the governor's plans are focused in the wrong direction.
"We love our veterans, and we love our first responders. We would argue that our teachers and support professionals are already first responders, doing what they can for our students every single day and that they need to be paid what they deserve," said Kriete.
Kriete said Hillsborough County is down roughly 900 teachers. He said the key to get them back is better pay and more time to focus on their job.
"The job is more difficult than ever before. I mean, the mental health challenges that students are exhibiting puts more pressure on our employees, our teachers, and support professionals," he added. "Those that are actually working in the schools are working wall to wall. They're not getting a period off where they could actually work on their lesson plans or grade papers. They're exhausted, so people are leaving the field."
Kriete said the answer isn't to borrow workers from other professions.
"We train teachers through the programs that we have in the district, through the state certifications, and quite frankly, through our universities to get prepared for that. Whether that is in how we operate our classroom, how we design our lessons, and how we actually diagnose and help each student in the classroom. That's much more nuanced and difficult than maybe the governor actually understands," Kriete added.
Florida Education Association President Andrew Sparr mirrored Kriete's sentiments and said this announcement is too little, too late.
"What the governor should be talking about is instead of waiting till the next legislative session, he should be talking about what he's going to do today," Sparr said.
Sparr agreed teacher pay is a high priority. Florida ranks 48th in the nation for teacher pay.
But DeSantis said his administration has taken great strides to increase pay.
"We have done the largest teacher pay increases in the history of Florida over the last two to three years. And we focused a lot of that on increasing the average minimum salary across the state of Florida. Three years ago, it was barely $40,000. Now with the budget we just enacted, the average minimum salary throughout the state will be over $48,000," DeSantis said.
"In 2010, the average teacher pay ranked 36th in the nation. Today we rank 48th. While average teacher pay ranks 48th in the nation, beginning teacher pay has actually gone up to 16 in the nation, which means he's literally taken money out of the pockets of experienced teachers and giving it to those just coming into the profession," said Sparr.
Florida's 2023 legislative session starts on March 7.
Copyright 2022 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
American Composers Orchestra to Perform D. J. Sparr's Reimagining of Kaki King's 'Modern Yesterdays'
Chloe Rabinowitzhttps://www.broadwayworld.com/article/American-Composers-Orchestra-to-Perform-D-J-Sparrs-Reimagining-of-Kaki-Kings-Modern-Yesterdays-20230127
The 20-minute suite is based on four selections from King's 2020 album of the same title.Thursday, March 16 (7:30 pm) marks the world premiere of composer/guitarist D. J. Sparr's orchestral reimagining of Kaki King's Modern Yesterdays, performed by the American Composers Orchestra under Daniela Candillari, with King as guitar soloist. The 20-minute suite, which features immersive video projections by Attilio Rigotti and Orsolya Szantho, is based on four selections from King's 2020 album of the same title, with the addition of The Di...
The 20-minute suite is based on four selections from King's 2020 album of the same title.
Thursday, March 16 (7:30 pm) marks the world premiere of composer/guitarist D. J. Sparr's orchestral reimagining of Kaki King's Modern Yesterdays, performed by the American Composers Orchestra under Daniela Candillari, with King as guitar soloist. The 20-minute suite, which features immersive video projections by Attilio Rigotti and Orsolya Szantho, is based on four selections from King's 2020 album of the same title, with the addition of The Divided Mind, a brand-new piece co-composed by Sparr and King.
Modern Yesterdays caps a lively and stimulating program that includes the world premiere of Carlos Bandera's Materia Prima, the New York premiere of Ellen Reid's Floodplain, and Carlos Simon's Fate Now Conquers performed by the American Composers Orchestra, including musicians llmar Gavilan (Harlem Quartet), Edward W. Hardy (The Woodsman), Monica Ellis, Kevin Newton and Brandon Patrick George (Imani Winds). Tickets for the concert, which takes place at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall, are available at carnegiehall.org.
D. J. Sparr, a sought-after electric guitar soloist in his own right, has been hailed by The New York Times for compositions that embody "the boundary erasing spirit of today's new music world." King - described by Rolling Stone as "a genre unto herself" - has gained a widespread following for her propulsive guitar works, which often involve tapping on the fretboard with both hands.
Translating King's rhythmically intricate, non-notated pieces into this New Medium called for considerable ingenuity and imagination. It was Sparr's task to create an orchestral accompaniment out of whole cloth while preserving King's role as soloist. Working closely with King, Sparr developed ways to highlight the distinctive features of her writing.
Said Sparr, "Kaki uses unique open tunings, which can translate nicely to open strings and harmonics in the orchestra. Plus, some of her guitar harmonics have natural partners and equivalents in the winds and percussion. It's all just one big guitar!
"The accented notes of her rhythmic patterns don't always line up precisely with the strong beats of the measure - which makes it sound so exciting. That makes orchestration fun, because I can highlight the syncopated rhythms." The movements of Modern Yesterdays are as follows:
Default ShellGodchildCan't Touch This or That or You or My FaceThe Divided Mind*Puzzle Me You*Co-composed by King and Sparr
Following the premiere of Modern Yesterdays, D. J. Sparr and librettist Mark Campbell's chamber opera Approaching Ali will be staged at Opera Las Vegas, March 18 + 19, and then at Opéra Louisiane, March 31 + April 1.
As a performer, he will take the solo role in his guitar concerto Violet Bond with the Memphis Symphony under Robert Moody, March 24. He will then premiere Daron Hagen's Concerto for Electric Guitar and Orchestra with the Wintergreen Music Festival Orchestra conducted by Andrew Litton, July 29 + 30.
A B O U T...D. J...S P A R R
Composer and electric guitarist D. J. Sparr, who Gramophone recently hailed as "exemplary," is one of America's preeminent composer-performers. He has caught the attention of critics with his eclectic style, described as "pop-Romantic...iridescent and wondrous" (The Mercury News) and embodying "the boundary erasing spirit of today's new-music world" (The New York Times). In addition, the Los Angeles Times praised him as "an excellent soloist," and the Santa Cruz Sentinel said that he "wowed an enthusiastic audience...Sparr's guitar sang in a near-human voice."
He was the electric guitar concerto soloist on the 2018 GRAMMY-Award-winning, all-Kenneth Fuchs recording with JoAnn Falletta and the London Symphony Orchestra.
In 2011, Sparr was named one of NPR listeners' favorite 100 composers. He has composed for and performed with renowned ensembles such as the Houston Grand Opera, Cabrillo Festival, New World Symphony, Washington National Opera, and Eighth Blackbird. D. J. was the Young American Composer-in-residence with the California Symphony from 2011-2014. His music has received awards from BMI, New Music USA, and the League of Composers/ISCM. Sparr is a faculty member at the famed Walden School's Creative Musicians Retreat in Dublin, New Hampshire. His composition works and guitar performances appear on Naxos, Innova Recordings, Albany, & Centaur Records.
A passion for musical performance grew from family encouragement at a young age. Three-year-old D. J. mimicked playing the guitar by holding his great-grandmother Violet Bond's straw broom in hand. Noticing this, Violet gave him a toy guitar for his third birthday and a Ukulele for his fourth birthday. By age five, D. J. was taking guitar lessons and was soon performing for a "captive" audience at his local music store, Coffey Music, in Westminster, MD.
In high school, D. J. spent his late-night and weekend hours writing and recording music with a Fostex X-26 4-track recorder. He attended Baltimore School for the Arts as a jazz guitar major. Surrounded by classical music, he began to write compositions for various instruments. He attended summer composition programs at The Walden School and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. D. J. continued honing his compositional craft at the Eastman School of Music (BM) and the University of Michigan (MM, DMA) studying with composers William Bolcom, Michael Daugherty, Christopher Rouse, Joseph Schwantner, & Augusta Read Thomas.
D. J. lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with his wife Kimberly, son Harris, Nannette the hound dog, and Bundini the boxer. D. J. Sparr's music is published by Bill Holab Music.
Florida lottery winner discovers unemployment benefits collected by imposter
Mike Holfeldhttps://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/05/20/florida-lottery-winner-discovers-unemployment-benefits-collected-by-imposter/
MARION COUNTY, Fla. – Charles Dennis Engelhardt’s legacy of state lottery winnings took a strange turn this month when the DEO and Florida Lottery withheld his $600 Florida Lotto X winnings to cover part of a “current debt balance” of $1,799 for an unemployment overpayment.Engelhardt told News 6 the notices made no sense because he and his wife retired in early 2014 and have had no reason to collect unemployment benefits over the last 8 years.[TRENDING: ...
MARION COUNTY, Fla. – Charles Dennis Engelhardt’s legacy of state lottery winnings took a strange turn this month when the DEO and Florida Lottery withheld his $600 Florida Lotto X winnings to cover part of a “current debt balance” of $1,799 for an unemployment overpayment.
Engelhardt told News 6 the notices made no sense because he and his wife retired in early 2014 and have had no reason to collect unemployment benefits over the last 8 years.
[TRENDING: Waves of tropical moisture to dump BIG rain on Central Florida | Hanson, Boyz II Men and more announced in line-up for EPCOT’s Eat to the Beat Concert Series | Become a News 6 Insider (it’s free!)]
“We were making close to what we were making before we retired,” he said, speaking with News 6 from his home in Sparr, Florida. “Then in July 2014, we hit the lottery.”
On July 25, 2014, to be exact, the Engelhardts won the Lucky Money jackpot of $2 million. According to the Lotto press release, “he chose the one-time lump sum payment option” of $1,442,664.80.
“We were set, our kids were set,” he said.
Ironically, in 1992, Engelhardt won the $228,231 Fantasy 5 top prize with no red flag from the state. But this time, the smallest of his three lotto jackpots exposed what a DEO investigator called a clear case of fraud.
“It had to happen after 2014,” Engelhardt reasoned. “Because in 2014, when we hit the lotto, they would have done the same check as they did for the $600.”
The DEO traced the unemployment benefits to the Frank Crum payroll company in Clearwater. News 6 asked Engelhardt to use the company’s website to see if there was a W-2 tax form for 2014.
What he found was a W-2 showing he had earned and paid taxes on more than $2,300 in 2014. The name, address and social security number on the document were completely accurate, but Engelhardt reaffirmed he was already retired and had no need for additional income or state unemployment benefits.
Engelhardt reacted to what appeared to be wages for a part time job in a text to News 6: “Never had a part-time job in my life.”
The DEO told Engelhardt it could take a few weeks to trace how much unemployment money was collected by the imposter. Engelhardt is expected to have his $600 lottery winnings reimbursed by the DEO.
If you have an unemployment issue, email makeendsmeet@wkmg.com or text the words “make ends meet” along with your issue to 407-676-7428.
Copyright 2022 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.
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