Unlicensed Contractor Removing North Bay Fire Debris: CSLB

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — The Contractors State License Board is investigating a suspected unlicensed fire debris and tree removal company that may be targeting North Bay wildfire survivors, the state agency said Wednesday. The company, operating under the names Koke Clean Up and/or Koke Demolition, may already have victimized a half-dozen people who opted to hire a private company to remove fire debris from their property, according to the agency.

CSLB officials believe Peter Koke, 42, of North Carolina, runs the unlicensed company and possibly is using a fake CSLB license number. A consumer tip led to the criminal investigation.

The CSLB and the North Bay Disaster Fraud Task Force, comprised of the FBI and the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office, issued a consumer alert about the company and served a search warrant at an office in downtown Santa Rosa that Koke is leasing, according to the state agency.

Investigators believe Koke is targeting wildfire survivors who opted out of the state and federal free debris removal service program and he allegedly has taken $15,000 to $20,000 and failed to complete the work on at least one property, CSLB officials said.

Koke may have taken a $15,000 down payment on another property where work was not completed, and other property owners may have prevented Koke from completing the work when they found out he was operating illegally, CSLB officials said.

A California license is required for tree and debris removal that costs $500 or more, except when the remains of a home are no more than ash and the land is not altered by excessive soil removal, according to the agency.

One of Koke's employees filed an application for a CSLB license on Nov. 30, 2017, and Koke attested to the applicant's work experience to meet the state's minimum requirement to issue a license. The employee claimed Koke's sister, a New York resident, will run the company, according to the CSLB.

The CSLB and North Bay Disaster Fraud Task Force investigators believe Koke may have used the license application number that is assigned to all pending applications instead of an actual California license number.

Koke checked a box on the application indicating he is a licensed California contractor, but a CSLB license has not been issued and it is on hold pending the results of the investigation, according to the agency.

Koke said this afternoon that he applied and paid a fee for a California contractor's license and was told by the CSLB he could use the license number on the pending application, which would become his California license number when approved.

Koke said the CSLB's allegations are an example of intimidating contractors who charge less than larger contractors whose profit is 80 percent to remove debris and trees.

"This is about trying to scare me out of the pond. I welcome the challenge," Koke said.

CSLB officials said it is likely other wildfire survivors also have been victimized by Koke, and they are urged to contact CSLB investigator Amanda Martinez by email at Amanda.Martinez@cslb.ca.gov or by calling 510-
540-2024.

By Bay City News Service

Photo courtesy Cslb.ca.gov