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Unlicensed Napa Contractor Facing Jail Time

Posted: 2:26 pm PST November 27, 2009

An unlicensed Napa contractor has been ordered to pay full restitution to three customers he defrauded or he faces a six-year prison term.

Ronald Russell Clawson, 27, pleaded no contest in Napa County Superior Court last week to elder abuse, identity theft, grand theft and fraudulent use of a contractor license number, Contractors State Licensing Board spokeswoman Venus Stromberg said.

As part of his plea, he will receive six months in jail, three years probation and pay restitution to his victims. If he violates his probation and doesn't make restitution to the victims, he faces a six-year prison term, Stromberg said.

Napa County Sheriff's Office deputies contacted the CSLB in March after a 75-year-old blind and hearing impaired Napa man said Clawson didn't construct three small sheds on his rental property in Yountville, Stromberg said.

Clawson also failed to get permits from the local building department for the $8,000 project, the CSLB said.

A Napa woman also claimed she paid Clawson $8,000 to remodel her kitchen but he abandoned the project and left her stove in her living room, Stromberg said.

Gary Cole Clawson, of Clawson Engineering in Arroyo Grande in San Luis Obispo County, notified the CSLB that a Fairfield consumer he never met had filed a claim against his bond, Stromberg said.

The Fairfield resident paid Russell Clawson $5,300 to build and install an entertainment center that was never delivered, the CSLB said.

The CSLB discovered Ronald Russell Clawson used Gary Cole Clawson's contractor license number on his business cards, claiming he was the licensee's son. Gary Cole Clawson indicated his business did not involve any of his relatives, the CSLB said.

The agreement requires Clawson to make full restitution for the incomplete sheds and the undelivered entertainment center, Stromberg said.

A hearing on Jan 6 will determine how much he owes the Napa woman for the unfinished kitchen project. An industry expert estimates it will cost more than $45,000 to correct that unfinished project, the CSLB said.

The January hearing also will determine whether the fraudulent use of Gary Clawson's license caused economic loss which would also entitle him to restitution, Stromberg said.

Clawson is scheduled to be sentenced April 10, 2010 in Napa County Superior Court. If he fails to make full restitution to all the victims by then, the court could place him on a payment schedule.

If all the victims are repaid by April 19, the felony charges against him will be reduced to misdemeanor offenses, Stromberg said.

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