The Guy Who's Trying to Shut Down a Kid's 'Illegal' Lemonade Stand Is Apparently Breaking the Law in an Incredibly Ironic Way

Those who live by bureaucracy, die by bureaucracy.

Remember T.J. Guerrero, the 12-year-old entrepreneur who has faced years of official complaints from a crotchety neighbor bent on shutting down the boy's lemonade stand?

T.J. serves a loyal customer. (Image via Tampa Bay Times)

In the week since Guerrero's story went viral, the preteen's business has boomed, the Tampa Bay Times reported, while the crotchety neighbor, 61-year-old Doug Wilkey, is facing ironic legal trouble: It seems that while Wilkey was trying to get T.J.'s "illegal business" shut down, he was running his own unlicensed business out of his house.

Wilkey had listed his Dunedin, Florida, home address as the principal business address for Bayport Financial Services, a tipster told city officials.

Wilkey was apparently skipping out on a $45-a-year business tax license and other paperwork, and Dunedin's planning director Greg Rice told the Times that Wilkey could start facing $250 daily fines if he doesn't come into compliance.

"The irony is [Wilkey's] not following the rules either, or doesn't seem to be," Rice said.

Wilkey has tried to stay out of the spotlight as the local story reached the national stage, ordering reporters off of his property on Thursday, the Times noted.

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