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By Lookout Staff
January 6 – An unlicensed Santa Monica contractor
faces criminal charges after allegedly collecting a $15,000
down payment to remodel a kitchen, then pocketing the money
without doing the work, according to the City Attorney’s
office.
The arraignment at the LAX criminal courthouse last month of Hosayn Mandi,
owner of New Line Interiors in Santa Monica, is part of a City crackdown
on contractors engaging in illegal practices during tough economic times.
“The tightening of credit and a worsening economy may create more
opportunities in 2009 for unlicensed contractors to take advantage of
Santa Monicans who are trying to find bargains,” said Deputy City
Attorney Gary Rhoades.
Clients trying to save a buck should be especially careful to get their
money’s worth when hiring unlicensed contractors, Rhoades said.
“The vast majority of our complaints involve not just the lack
of licensing, but folks who didn’t get close to what they bargained
for,” Rhoades said. “It will be cheaper in the long run if
you insist on licensed work.”
Filed November 6, the charges against Mandi and New Line Interiors include
contracting without a license, charging an excessive down payment, theft
and operating without a City business license.
The count of unlicensed contracting is punishable by up to six months
in jail and a $1,000 fine, Rhoades said. The other offenses are each punishable
by up to one year in County Jail.
In addition, Mandi could face a maximum fine of $5,000 for charging an
excessive down payment, Rhoades said.
The City Attorney’s office has obtained a court order that prohibits
Mandi and New Line Interiors from conducting any contractor’s business
pending trial, City officials said.
The charges were filed by the City Attorney’s Consumer Protection
Unit as part of an ongoing partnership with the Contractors State Licensing
Board (CSLB) to crack down on illegal practices by contractors in Santa
Monica.
Mandi’s case -- which was the Unit’s fifth such filing of
2008 -- will begin with a trial-setting hearing set for January 28, making
it one of the Unit’s first prosecutions in the new year.
The Consumer Protection Unit urges consumers to know their rights with
contractors, including:
• The right to hire licensed contractors;
• The right to check a contractor’s license at
www.cslb.ca.gov or 800-321-2752;
• The right to pay only 10 percent or $1,000, whichever
is less, as a down payment;
• The right to a written contract that specifies project
costs, the down payment, a payment schedule and start and
completion date.
Contractor fraud ranks among the top five consumer complaints in California,
according to the State Senate Oversight Committee. The widespread problem
costs consumers nationwide more than $100 billion annually.
To report a consumer complaint against a contractor, call the CSLB fraud
team at 562-345-7600 or go to www.cslb.ca.gov.
For any contractor problems in Santa Monica, call the Consumer
Protection Unit at 310-458-8336.
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