Two Men Behind Unsafe Southland Construction Projects Convicted

PALOS VERDES, CA — Two men who formerly worked for an engineering firm in Rolling Hills Estates were each convicted Wednesday of more than 200 counts, including forgery, identity theft and grand theft, for forging the signature of a licensed civil engineer to deceive homeowners, developers and architects into believing projects were deemed safe.

Wilfrido Rodriguez, 47, and Ruben Gutierrez, 45, waived their right to a jury trial.

Rodriguez, who worked as an engineering drafter, was convicted of more than 250 counts and acquitted of 129 other charges. Gutierrez, who worked as an architectural designer, was found guilty of 205 counts and acquitted of 46 others.

Prosecutors contend the two defrauded clients across the Southland into believing that their construction projects had been designed and certified by structural engineers. As a result, clients built additions and other construction projects that may not be safe, according to authorities.

The two forged the signature of one of the licensed civil engineers that owned Palos Verdes Engineering in Rolling Hills Estates, where the two had worked, and used the victim's engineering seal to deceive homeowners and municipalities into believing that the victim had personally drafted engineering plans and conducted structural observations as structures were being built, said Deputy District Attorney Jeffrey Stodel.

The victim did not discover the fraud until March 2014 and reported it to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department soon afterward, the prosecutor said.

Rodriguez and Gutierrez were criminally charged last year.

Rodriguez could face a potential sentence of more than 170 years behind bars, while Gutierrez could face a maximum of 141 years in custody, according to the District Attorney's Office.

Gutierrez's attorney, Bill Seki, said he plans to ask the judge to sentence his client to probation.

"It's an incredibly complicated case and I think the judge put a lot of thought into it," Seki said outside court. "Despite her ruling, we believe there are legal issues we would like to address in an appeal."

Seki had said last year that there were no allegations of any defects as a result of the engineering plans involved in the case.

The two men remain free on bond while awaiting sentencing Jan. 27 at the downtown Los Angeles courthouse.

Related: Hundreds of Southland Contruction Projects May Be Unsafe

City News Service contributed to this post