Contractors doing work in Tahoe caught in sting

Nineteen people on the South Shore face charges from an April 30 undercover sting by the the California Contractors State License Board and Nevada State Contractors Board.

Dubbed Border Blitz, it  snared 11 people on the California side for illegal contracting charges and eight in Nevada. Three caught in Nevada are licensed contractors in California.

The stings were at a single-family home near the junction of highways 50 and 89 junction and at a condominium in Stateline. Investigators from CSLB’s Statewide Investigative Fraud Team and NSCB posed as homeowners seeking bids for various projects that included exterior painting, deck work, landscaping, and other tasks requiring general “B” building contractor skills.

According to investigators, those cited after giving bids in California were issued notices to appear in El Dorado County Superior Court. The eight Nevada suspects are scheduled to answer charges in Lake Tahoe Justice Court.

All 11 suspects cited in California face misdemeanor charges of contracting without a license. Home improvement and construction jobs in California valued at $500 or more (combined labor and material costs) must be conducted by a company or person with a CSLB-issued license. Nine of the 11 were also cited on a misdemeanor charge of illegal advertising. California law requires contractors to place their license number in all print, broadcast, and online advertisements. Those without a license can advertise for jobs valued at less than $500, but the ad must state that they are not a licensed contractor.

Nevada’s threshold for licensed contracting work is $1,000. All eight suspects caught in Stateline were cited for contracting without a license, and seven of them face an additional charge of advertising without a license. In Nevada, advertising contracting services without a license is illegal.

Here are the names of those cited:

 — Lake Tahoe News staff report