A Hilo man has been charged with three felonies after allegedly posing as a licensed contractor. ADVERTISING A Hilo man has been charged with three felonies after allegedly posing as a licensed contractor. At 4:34 p.m. Friday, 37-year-old Ricky Mesa
A Hilo man has been charged with three felonies after allegedly posing as a licensed contractor.
At 4:34 p.m. Friday, 37-year-old Ricky Mesa was charged with first-degree theft and two felony counts of unlicensed contractor fraud, according to the Hawaii Police Department. His bail was set at $60,000.
The charges stem from two separate incidents in 2012, according to police. In September 2012, Mesa reportedly identified himself as a licensed contractor to a Hilo couple to do electrical, plumbing and drywall work. In November 2012, he allegedly identified himself as a licensed contractor and received more than $30,000 to install a photovoltaic system for a 69-year-old Pahoa man but never completed the work.
Mesa was charged under a law that went into effect in July 2012 that makes it a felony to perform work while falsely claiming to be a licensed contractor, according to police.