TRI-CITIES, Wash. — It all started with a simple Craiglist ad.
Pasco resident Michael Marmon was looking for contractor and building help, turning to a familiar website he’s used before.
When Marmon, who has worked in construction himself, came across an ad posted by 39-year-old Antonio “Tony” Gonzalez, it seemed harmless.
“Yeah, it seemed legitimate. It had a Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) number on it and he was a smooth talker,” Marmon said. “He was good at it, let’s put it that way.”
Marmon said they chatted for a bit before Gonzalez came out and gave him a bid.
“He wanted a deposit upfront so I gave him $2,000 dollars,” Marmon said. “After that, it was emails back and forth. He never came out again.”
Marmon said he grew frustrated as Gonzalez “just kept making excuses on and on and on.”
“That’s when I ran an ad on Craiglist warning everyone that he was a rip-off, basically,” Marmon said.
That ad caught the attention of retired Richland resident Nancy Murray, who had also fallen victim to the alleged scam last year.
Like Marmon, she had been searching on Craigslist for someone to help her fix her bathroom.
According to Murray, Gonzalez came over to give her an initial quote with a downpayment of $3,000 dollars.
Murray said he worked once and then used excuses like breaking his arm at another job site to push coming back.
“Each time he came back he did work that was really badly done. It made quite a mess and we actually are going to have to have most of the work he did taken out,” Murray said.
She added that she was tipped off after calling the license number he provided that turned out to be a different contractor in the Seattle area.
“It’s very frustrating, I mean we’re not rich,” Murray said. “It’s really too bad because people need workers and it’s hard to find people right now.”
But Murray wasn’t the only one who saw Marmon’s ad.
“I actually had a lot of people contact me who were also victims so then I realized how much he was really doing,” Marmon said. “It made me madder.”
Ten others across the state residing in Tri-Cities, Yakima, Seattle, Everett, Olympia, and more are all victims of the alleged scam, according to L&I. Included are:
- A Seattle woman wrote a $6,000 check to Gonzalez toward an attic remodel. He worked just one day, and dropped off a few pieces of lumber and electrical boxes.
- A Richland couple paid Gonzalez $3,000 toward their bathroom remodel. A worker demolished drywall for a couple hours and Gonzalez showed up briefly one day, but neither ever returned. The wife and her husband, who is battling cancer, were left with an unfinished bathroom without a door.
- A Yakima couple lost their $18,000 down payment to Gonzalez, who cashed their check then never even started to build their barn.
L&I has since then cited Gonzalez “for a total of 30 civil infractions from last July through January — 13 for performing or offering to perform construction while unregistered,10 for falsely using another contractor’s registration, and seven for plumbing and electrical-related violations. The infractions carry fines totaling more than $110,000,” a news release said.
Currently, the Yakima County Prosecutor’s Office is considering whether or not to file criminal charges against Gonzales for his fraudulent activities.
Additionally, several police reports have been filed in local jurisdictions across the state.
“If a contractor asks you to write the check out to his name or her name or they have a certain business and give you that business card but want you to write the check to their name personally, that’s a red flag,” said L&I Communication Consultant Debby Abe. “It’s a very sad situation for the victims who were cheated. We feel bad for all of them.”
Washington state law requires that independent contractors register with L&I to ensure they run a legitimate business. The Department offered the following guidelines for anyone planning to hire a contractor to do work for them:
- Get contractors’ business card or estimate with their name and contractor registration number.
- Go to L&I’s ProtectMyHome.net or call 1-800-647-0982 to:
- Verify contractor registration.
- Get the owner’s name and phone number.
- Call the listed phone number to confirm you are dealing with the legitimate owner or employee.
- Get a well-written contract to ensure access to the contractor’s bond.
- Never risk more money than the contractor’s bond — $12,000 for general contractors, $6,000 for specialty contractors.
Be careful with who you entrust to do work on your home.
For additional details and KAPP-KVEW’s previous coverage, click here.
RELATED:
Fraudulent contractor indicted for allegedly stealing $740,000 from Benton County in 2019
10 Kennewick residents indicted in staged car accident scheme
COPYRIGHT 2022 BY YAKTRINEWS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
