State Stings 14 Phony Contractors in Costa Mesa

State and local officials teamed up for a sting operation in Costa Mesa last week that ended with 14 being cited forillegal contracting and/or local business license violations, the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) announced Wednesday.

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The CSLB teamed with the Orange County District Attorney's office and Costa Mesa's Police and Code Enforcement departments to conduct the sting operation on Feb. 11-12. Team members posed as homeowners who called the phony contractors for bids on improvement projects that included painting, flooring, tile work and a new concrete driveway and walkway at a South Coast Plaza-area home.

The location was determined due to Orange County's current home remodeling boom. In Costa Mesa, the number of building permits has increased 21 percent over the past three years, according to CSLB officials, who cautioned increased availability of work routinely creates an influx of unlicensed contractors hoping to take advantage of unsuspecting consumers.

The contacted tradespeople responded with bids ranging from $1,650 for interior painting to $13,000 for concrete work. Any home improvement job totaling $500 or more in combined labor and material costs requires that the person have a state-issued contractor license, the CSLB notes.

Fourteen unlicensed contractors provided illegal bids to the undercover investigators and now face a misdemeanor charge each of contracting without a license, according to the CSLB. Twelve of them also face misdemeanor charges of illegal advertising as California contracting law requires unlicensed individuals to state in all advertising that they are not licensed. Two may face additional charges of illegally using another contractor's license number, the CSLB says.

Thirteen of the phony contractors also were cited by Costa Mesa Code Enforcement for not having a city business license.

"The timing of the sting could not be better," says Costa Mesa Building Official Khanh Nguyen in a CSLB release. "We've had an increase in calls from residents regarding shoddy workmanship or unfinished work by unlicensed contractors."

"Many consumers don't realize the risk they take when they hire someone who isn't licensed to work in and around their home," adds CSLB Registrar Cindi Christenson. "Many ask for big down payments, and then end up abandoning a job, or doing lousy work. Once you give an unlicensed contractor a lot of money, it's very difficult to get it back."

At least there is the legal system to discourage any more of this by phony contractors. The 14 suspects must answer to their contracting violation charges on either May 6 or 13 at Orange County Superior Court's West Justice Center in Westminster. They are identified on the next page ...

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State Stings 14 Phony Contractors in Costa Mesa