DAYTONA BEACH SHORES, FL — Steven Ray Parker, 53, was sentenced to eight years in prison on May 27 after pleading no contest to 12 felony charges related to fraudulent post-hurricane contracting work in Volusia County.
The Daytona Beach Shores resident took payments from victims—many of whom were recovering from Hurricane Ian—but often delivered shoddy work or never finished the jobs. Parker used the license and credentials of a legitimate contractor from Cape Coral who shares the same name.
At Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, Judge Kathryn Weston heard from seven victims or their family members, as well as several character witnesses speaking on Parker’s behalf. Weston ultimately chose a sentence between what the prosecution and defense had recommended: Assistant State Attorney Kevin Sullivan pushed for a sentence in the “double digits,” while defense attorney Carlos Vidal-Collazo argued that Parker posed no violent threat and could instead work to pay restitution.
Parker was also sentenced to 22 years of probation, which may be reduced if he pays restitution. He is barred from working as a contractor during that time but may work in construction as a laborer.
Although restitution agreements totaling nearly $56,000 have been reached for four of the victims, Parker had not paid any of it by the time of sentencing. Judge Weston emphasized this shortcoming in her ruling:
“I really do feel like this is generous… I do find that you’re a danger to the community, sir, so you’re going to be taken into custody today.”
Parker, who ran a popular Facebook group called “What’s Happening in Port Orange?”, testified for over an hour, admitting he misled homeowners and apologizing.
“What I did was wrong. I went about it the wrong way,” he said.
Nancy Moore-Fabian, one of the victims, hired Parker after receiving $74,000 in FEMA funding to repair her home. Her daughter, Gwen Wakeman, said she had hoped for a longer sentence but called the result “sufficient.”
“Eight years hopefully will give him time to really think about what he did,” Wakeman said.
