SACRAMENTO, CA – A Modesto man who was on the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) Most Wanted list has been sentenced to state prison again for charges related to unlicensed contracting.
A Contra Costa County judge sentenced 42-year-old Adan Contreras Rivas to seven years and eight months in state prison on March 10 after he was convicted in February of multiple felonies and misdemeanors related to unlicensed contracting, fraud, theft, and failing to obtain workers’ compensation insurance.
The Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office filed an initial complaint against Rivas in March 2022 following an investigation into his actions that led to his eventual arrest. He was released on his own recognizance.
Rivas was invited to a sting CSLB conducted in October 2022 with the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office and the California Department of Insurance targeting unlicensed contractors. He didn’t show up for his scheduled appointment but sent his parents instead to ask for a bid. This assisted investigators in contacting Rivas.
Rivas was arrested again in November 2022 for posing as a licensed contractor in the landscaping industry and stealing thousands of dollars from unsuspecting consumers.
Prior to his offenses in Contra Costa County, Rivas had served time in state prison for several related felony and misdemeanor convictions for grand theft, theft from an elder, and contracting without a license in Santa Clara County.
Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton noted after Rivas’ conviction in February, “My office is protecting consumers in the county by partnering with multiple government agencies like the Contractors State License Board and the California Department of Insurance. This partnership has been effective in conducting undercover sting operations as well as investigating unlicensed contractors who fail to obtain workers’ compensation insurance.”
CSLB Registrar David Fogt cautioned that unlicensed contractors pose a threat to consumers by failing to demonstrate minimum experience qualifications by obtaining a contractor’s license. Some unlicensed contractors illegally request excessive down payments for construction or landscaping projects and frequently fail to begin or complete projects once they receive money.
Consumers are often unaware unlicensed contractors have not completed background checks and usually do not carry workers’ compensation insurance for their employees – which increases liability risks to consumers.
About CSLB: CSLB operates under the umbrella of the Department of Consumer Affairs and licenses and regulates about 285,000 contractors in California.
3 comments
He should have just stole $900 a time in the retail stores and he would be walking free.
We really need to be careful with contractors. We totally checked out our contractor and it ended up taking over a year to get our kitchen redone after a huge leak. Lucky we didn’t pay them but for deposit of a $1000 and at the start of construction $4000. But we still haven’t had a couple things fixed still so we aren’t paying them til it’s all done. Also our last bill was $37000 which was wrong and we had to fight them to fix it. Finally it was down to $24000.
Just a fancy way of saying, if you don’t have a way for us to track you down and take as much money from you as possible, we are putting you in prison. Yet we give needles and fentanyl to anyone who asks for migraine medicine at the hospital. Upside down world.
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