A sting targeting Central California Valley contractors charging excessive up-front payments caught five contractors who were operating without workers’ compensation insurance, including a registered sex offender who had not submitted to a background check, according to a press release from the Contractors State License Board.
The board’s Statewide Investigative Fraud Team (SWIFT), together with the Fresno District Attorney’s Office, the Employment Development Department, California Highway Patrol and Fresno Police, posed as homeowners looking to catch contractors charging down payments exceeding the lesser of 10% of the contract price or $1,000.
A total of 21 contractors were cited during the sting, conducted Jan. 11 and 12. Five contractors cited for operating without comp insurance include:
— Martin Mendoza, 35, of Mendoza Fencing in Fresno was also cited for contracting without a license. Mendoza is a registered sex offender and state law requires contractors applying for a license submit fingerprints for a Department of Justice background check.
— Tree services contractor Johnny Guerrero Garcia Jr., 43, of Fresno, who was also cited for contracting without a license, illegal advertising and soliciting excessive down payments.
— Painter Luis Luz Gonzales, 27, of Fresno, was also cited for contracting without a license, illegal advertising and soliciting excessive down payments.
— Antonio Arnaldo Lemus, 47, of Custom Painting in Fresno, was also cited for contracting without a license, illegal advertising and soliciting excessive down payments.
— Painter Gilbert Joseph Bustos, 60, of Handy Man Services in Fresno, was also cited for contracting without a license, illegal advertising and soliciting excessive down payments.
Garcia, Mendoza and Gonzales are scheduled for arraignment on Feb. 28 in Fresno County Superior Court. Lemus and Bustos will be arraigned on March 6.
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Source: CSLB, WorkComp Central
