D.A.’s undercover sting targets ‘criminal contractors’ in L.A. wildfire zones

Five people were arrested earlier this year and charged with working as unlicensed contractors in an area affected by the destructive Eaton fire, part of a broader anti-fraud operation by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

The defendants are accused of illegally attempting to perform repairs on what they thought were homes damaged by the January blaze, which killed 18 people and destroyed about 9,400 homes in Altadena. But instead they were caught up in an October undercover sting meant to target what L.A. County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman referred to at a Thursday news conference as “criminal contractors.”

“They are trying to take advantage of people at some of their lowest moments,” Hochman said, standing on a plot of land in Altadena where the home of a county employee once stood before it was destroyed in the fire.

Hochman said he is launching a broader effort to protect fire victims looking for cheap repairs. He warned that though unlicensed contractors may be cost-effective, they almost never have insurance and often ask for more money upfront than is legally allowed, which Hochman said could lead to fraud and leave homeowners with little recourse if a project goes wrong.

“There’s a reason it’s quick. And there’s a reason it’s cheaper,” he said.

All five men arrested in the undercover operation did not actually perform any work on a home, according to Hochman, who said some other fire-impacted homeowners have reached out to prosecutors to identify other unlicensed workers. More charges could be coming, he said.

Each defendant faces a $10,000 fine and up to three years in prison. Though contracting without a license is normally a misdemeanor, it is a felony when done in connection with an area damaged by a natural disaster, Hochman said.

Asked if he had concerns about the possible immigration consequences of such an enforcement effort — given the Trump administration’s sporadic arrests at L.A. courthouses and the fact that many unlicensed contractors cannot get state approval because of their immigration status — Hochman said the operation had nothing to do with immigration enforcement “one way or the other.”