Monument contractor has “valid” license, despite fraud complaints
A Monument contractor accused of defrauding more than a dozen former clients out of tens of thousands of dollars, somehow still has a valid license in El Paso County.
Our KRDO team discovered this on the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department website.
You may recall our series following this state-wide contracting scam.
More than a dozen former clients of Nail have come forwarded with similar stories. A week later, several local roofing companies in Colorado Springs offered their services to help victims at no cost.
What’s the latest on Nail
You may remember, Nail bonded out of jail after being arrested on drug and weapon charges.
He’s due back in court next week. But, now that he’s out we did some more digging on his license here in El Paso County. It’s still valid on the Pike Peak Regional Building Dept. website.
How is this possible?
Rebecca Mulder with the Pikes Peak Regional Building Dept. (PPRBD) explains it’s a long process to investigate.
“The licensing committee is the only authority that can revoke the license,” Mulder said.
The license committee only meets once a month.
This means, despite several complaints of fraud, Nail’s license will remain “active” on the website with no indication to potential new clients he’s under investigation.
It’s situations like this, attorney general-elect, Phil Weiser said needs to change.
“We need to investigate quicker,” said Weiser. “We take too long to start investigating and all that lag time, more people are being taken advantage of.”
KRDO asked if the PPRBD could temporarily suspend a contractor’s license if he/she is under investigation.
But, the department told us “their hands are tied” because their code simply doesn’t allow for it. A contractor has to be convicted of a trade-related felony.
“You are taking away their livelihood, their ability to do their job in our community, so in order to do that, you have to afford them due process,” said Mark Waller, an El Paso County Commissioner.
So bottom line: until Nail goes before a judge and is potentially sentenced, his license will stay active with no warning to the public. This is why it’s so important for consumers to do their due diligence and research potential contractors to hire.
