State officials hand down citations for those posing as contractors in Merced County

Authorities cited 15 people in Merced County for doing contract work without a license and other violations, according to the Contractors State License Board.

On Jan. 25 and 26, during a sting operation by the board in Livingston, 15 people were cited for unlicensed contracting; seven did not have the state-required insurance for their workers and face charges for that violation, authorities reported Thursday.

“It is very common for contractors to bring additional employees to help them complete a project,” Registrar Cindi Christenson said in a news release. “However, if the contractor does not have worker’s comp insurance, the homeowner may be liable if the employee gets hurt on their property.”

Investigators with the Statewide Investigative Fraud Team set up a sting at a single-family home near the Merced River, posing as homeowners, authorities said. The bids for contract work ranged from $750 for landscaping to $13,000 for installing new ceramic tile and painting the house.

Fourteen people also received an additional misdemeanor charge of illegal advertising, authorities said. One bidder required an excessive down payment before starting work and was also cited for that violation. Contractors cannot ask for more than 10 percent down or $1,000, whichever is less, authorities said.

Those cited include Merced residents Aaron Allen Powell, Ramiro Carillo, Willie Felix, Aaron Aguila, Pablo Torrez Gutierrez, Jose Antonio Medina, Humberto Alfonso Goninez and Paul Aaron Stanley.

Also cited were Michael Welford Glass of Los Banos and Jorge Yanez Alvarado of Winton.

Stanislaus County residents cited included Louis Camario, Gilberto Guzman Flores and Fernando Marquez. William McDonald of Calaveras County and Fermin Barboza of Kings County also were cited.

Those who received citations have been ordered to appear at 8:30 a.m. April 19 in Merced Superior Court.

This story was originally published February 3, 2017 at 3:59 PM with the headline "State officials hand down citations for those posing as contractors in Merced County."