Eleven people suspected of contracting without a license face legal trouble following a sting at a house in Folsom on June 26, 2014. Investigators with the Contractors State License Board's (CSLB) Statewide Investigative Fraud Team went undercover, posing as homeowners seeking bids for home improvement projects. During the sting, the 11 suspects submitted bids of $500 or more (combined labor and material costs) . Submitting a bid of $500 or more requires that a contractor have a CSLB-issued license. Those contracting without a license face misdemeanor charges, are cited, and must appear in court.
"CSLB investigators don't keep their work a secret," said California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) President Alan Barcelona. "They publicize their stings and the arrests they make as a deterrent, yet unlicensed contractors continue to show up and bid on projects they shouldn't. These unlicensed contractors often bid low to beat out licensed contractors and they put consumers at risk."
During the undercover sting, investigators sought bids on exterior painting, fencing, landscaping, retaining walls and pool tiling. The median bid was about $4,000. Investigators received a high bid of $10,000 for an exterior painting job. One of the suspects showed investigators a contractor license number that did not belong to him and was cited on an addition charge as a result.
Cited were:
Jason Andrew Muller, West Sacramento
Christopher Ray Cunningham, Sacramento
Patrick Richard Beals, Folsom
Joshua Elias Valencia, Carmichael
Gabriel Cortez, Citrus Heights
Gregory Alan Hayes, Grass Valley
Jose Luis Tolentino, Roseville
Alejandro Arturo Diaz, Sacramento
Soroosh Reinhanihoseinabad, Citrus Heights
Bruce Timothy Aziz, Citrus Heights
Abenida Stephen Olenslager, Sacramento
CSLB licenses and regulates about 300,000 contractors in California, and is regarded as one of the leading consumer protection agencies in the United States. In fiscal year 2012-13, CSLB helped recover nearly $44 million in ordered restitution for consumers.
