17 cited in South Shore contractor sting
Seventeen people on the South Shore are accused of violating state construction laws.
The Contractors State License Board in California and Nevada State Contractors Board conducted a simultaneous sting operation April 27.
Seventeen individuals received citations for illegal contracting. Five unlicensed contractors were cited at a home near Pioneer Trail, while 12 were found at a Stateline condominium, including one contractor who has a California license, and two who had a suspended California contractor license.
At each sting location, investigators for the state agencies posed as homeowners seeking bids for construction improvements.
Investigators aid they developed leads from Craigslist and local bulletin board ads. They contacted the suspected illegal contractors and asked for bids on exterior painting, paver installation, demolition, and decking in South Lake Tahoe, while bids were taken for interior painting at the Stateline condo.
The five California suspects submitted bids that exceeded $500, the legal limit for any project’s combined material and labor costs before a contractor license is required in California. Each suspect was issued a notice to appear in El Dorado County Superior Court on misdemeanor charges. The top bid was $3,000 to replace a deck.
At the Nevada site, the high bid was $4,800 to paint the interior of the two-story condo. Nevada’s cost threshold for needing a contractor license is $1,000. Electricians, HVAC, and plumbing contractors must be licensed in Nevada, regardless of the project’s cost.
The California suspects were cited for contracting without a license and three face an additional charge of illegal advertising. One man was allegedly using a relative’s contractor license.
Names of those cited in Nevada have not been released.
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SUSPECT’S NAME CITY OF RESIDENCE |
LICENSE CLASSIFICATION |
ALLEGED VIOLATIONS |
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Jesus Javier Garcia-Campos |
Contracting without a license, |
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John Donaldson Ure |
Contracting without a license, |
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Randy Craig Burton |
Contracting without a license |
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Victor Buz Devoll |
Contracting without a license, |
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Michael Evan Bell |
Contracting without a license |
— Lake Tahoe News staff report
This is a good program and should be used frequently as it protects people and is important to enforce this law, there are also many who are licensed who claim to have no employees and use unlicensed and uninsured “employees” causing liability to owners and is also a big problem as well that needs as much attention.