State Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, is calling for the Florida Attorney General to investigate builder KB Home.
Bennett believes the California-based company knowingly built with poor quality materials and sold shoddy condominiums.
The senator said the "last straw" was when he found out about lawsuits filed by former KB Home employees.
The whistleblowers say the company knew about structural defects in the Willowbrook condo community in Manatee County, but KB decided to sell them anyway.
"They (KB Home) have got a lot of condominiums out there that have had multiple water leaks, crumbling decks, mold on the insides," Bennett said.
"This has been going on for a period, for some of those people, for five to six years," Bennett said. "They have had multiple times where KB Home has attempted to fix it, they didn't."
One of the lawsuits claims KB Home attempted to conceal problems in almost 60 townhomes. Bennett said he hopes the investigation will persuade the company to buy back the faulty condominiums.
The Attorney General's Office said they've passed the KB Home complaints on to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. That department said it cannot confirm or deny any ongoing investigation until 10 days after a complaint has been filed.
KB Home was contacted for this story, but did not respond. The company has said it will not buy back the homes, and defends the quality of its work.
