Former owners of a Tulare construction company are expected to be sentenced Thursday for scamming more than a dozen victims of the 2017 Tubbs Fire.
Sentencing brings a close to one of the biggest fraud investigations linked to a major Sonoma County wildfire in recent memory. At least on a criminal level, since civil lawsuits are still ongoing.
Salvador Chiaramonte and his wife Pamela, former owners of the shuttered Chiaramonte Construction & Plumbing, were accused of bilking victims of the 36,807-acre blaze that wiped out 5,643 structures and killed 22 people.
They, along with their daughter, Amy Perry, were scheduled to have a preliminary hearing in April to determine if they would go to trial. They instead entered plea deals and pleaded no contest to various charges.
Salvador Chiaramonte could be sentenced to six years in prison, but half of that may be on post-release community supervision. His wife and daughter each face 60 days under a jail alternative program.
The Tubbs Fire ravaged the area in 2017 and victims came forward with allegations of fraud and negligence in May 2019 after offers to rebuild their homes went unfulfilled.
Victims said they paid for work that was shoddily performed or not done at all, The Press Democrat first reported in 2019. They alleged the contractors missed deadlines, broke promises on construction start dates and let rebuilds drag on with no progress.
The Contractors State License Board launched an investigation into Chiaramonte Construction in 2019 and later suspended its license for failure to maintain workers’ compensation coverage.
Criminal charges were filed against the Chiaramontes and Perry in July 2020.
Prosecutors say the defendants had signed roughly 40 construction contracts following the Tubbs Fire and a criminal complaint referenced 16 victims.
Each defendant was charged with dozens of felonies. An April 22 preliminary hearing would have determined whether the case would have gone to trial, but it was canceled in the wake of the Chiaramontes and Perry’s pleas nearly two months ago.
Salvador pleaded no contest on April 29 to 13 counts of diverting funds of at least $1,000 and one count of theft from an elder or dependent adult, according to court records. Pamela Chiaramonte and Perry each pleaded no contest to one count of diversion of funds.
Their construction company was dissolved and in April 2020 the Chiaramontes’ filed for personal bankruptcy protection from creditors.
You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi
