Victims urge CSLB to push for criminal penalties, restitution in contractor‑fraud cases

Chair Mel Gaza called the Contractors State License Board to order on June 5 and opened the public‑comment period, where several speakers urged stronger remedies for contractor fraud.

Andrea Montano, founder and executive director of Over My Card, told the board she represents more than 300 victims across six contractors and said the cases she’s documented involve homeowners, unpaid subcontractors and vendors, investors and tax agencies. Montano said license revocation alone “is not a proportional consequence” for large‑scale fraud schemes and asked the board to support three changes: criminal punishment that leads to restitution, a reliable restitution mechanism, and standardized enforcement that prevents similar referrals from scattering across different administrative tracks.

Another public commenter who identified himself as Greg, a wildfire survivor, described hiring a contractor after losing his home and said civil litigation and the licensing complaint process moved too slowly to provide meaningful relief. “A Senate resolution recognizing a problem is not the same as a law that solves it,” Greg said, urging the board to help close the gap between recognition and enforceable protection.

Speaker Luke described using a factory‑built home contractor to construct an accessible unit for a family member, and said off‑site modular construction lacks milestone payment protections available for traditional on‑site builds. Luke told the board a bill on the agenda addresses that gap and said he would comment again when the item was reached.

The commenters’ requests ranged from statutory changes to better coordination with criminal prosecutors and clearer remedies for restitution. The board received these comments during the public‑comment portion of the meeting but did not take formal action at that time; multiple speakers said they will return to the board when relevant agenda items are heard.