Fourteen people in Orange and a dozen in Lawndale were among those swept up in a statewide crackdown on unlicensed contractors, officials said today.
(Flickr/tachyondecay)
Officials with the Contractors State License Board held a news conference today in Orange to announce the results of undercover stings this week in several cities in California in which agents posed as homeowners seeking contracting work.
In Orange, Kyle Raymond Kovacovsky told undercover investigators he would replace swimming pool equipment for $7,500, officials said.
In Lawndale, Edward Fragoso, whose license was suspended in December and 2010 and has since expired, was arrested.
Julio Jiminez was caught up in a similar sting in April of last year and was ordered to serve 10 days in jail and put on three years of probation.
If he is convicted again in this sting he may have to do a 90-day jail sentence, officials said.
The crackdown — which also included stings in San Bernardino, Chico, Oakdale and Bakersfield — led to nearly 80 people facing criminal charges.
Among those handcuffed in the sting were a registered sex offender in Oakdale, one man in Bakersfield who had a prior conviction for statutory rape, and another suspect in Oakdale who is on federal probation for bribery.
Seventy-eight of those arrested face misdemeanor charges for contracting without a license.
Fifty-seven were accused of illegal advertising, 24 allegedly requested too much for a down payment — which is not to exceed 10 percent of the contract or $1,000 — and 17 were issued stop orders.
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