Investigators with the Contractors State License Board's statewide investigative fraud team and Rancho Cordova police officers today arrested an unlicensed operator with a history of using contractor licenses not issued to him.
Charles Peter Maffia, 67, of Rancho Cordova was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail, with bail set at $40,000, according to a Contractors State License Board news release. He is to be arraigned Thursday in Sacramento County Superior Court.
Maffia is accused of fraudulent use of an incorrect contractor license, contracting without a license, illegal advertising and violation of probation. He was already on formal probation for fraudulent use of a contractor license number following a 2006 arrest on this an related charges.
Maffia has a complaint history with the Contractors State License Board going back to 1980. His criminal background includes 44 months in state prison for fraudulent use of a contractor license, officials said.
The statewide investigative fraud team received tips from two former employees and a customer that Maffia was doing business as Wolf Excavation Inc. and using other people's contractor licenses, leading to the current arrest.
A video on YouTube shows Maffia's company engaged in a paving project and includes a link to a website. The website indicates Wolf Excavation is a full-service construction company offering paving, asphalt and residential remodeling. Officials said they found a similar page on Facebook for Wolf Excavation Inc. and ads on Craigslist.
Maffia applied for a state contractor license but was rejected because he lacked the four years of journey-level experience required by state law, according to the news release. Contractors State License Board investigators put a block on the license, and when Maffia came to the board's headquarters today to have the block lifted, Rancho Cordova Police arrested him.
The business owner who reported Maffia's unlicensed activity to investigators hired Wolf Excavation in June for an $8,100 project as a result of a Craigslist ad. After the work was completed, the customer found that many areas of paving needed repair, according to the news release. After researching Maffia on the Contractors State License Board website, he found that the contractor license number for Wolf Excavation was issued to another entity.
One former employee reported to investigators that he was hired with the understanding that he would receive a company vehicle and health insurance. He didn't receive either, was not paid and was told to fill out a form classifying him as an independent contractor. The man refused and quit.
The other employee, who also had quit, told investigators that he was not paid for about $8,000 in wages.
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