L&I: Unregistered Contractor Behind on Premium Payments

Monday, October 23, 2017 | 0

The Washington state Department of Labor and Industries said a contractor charged with felony theft for collecting payments for projects he never started owed $6,500 in workers’ compensation premiums and another $12,000 for unregistered contracting.

Jesse Scott Espinoza, owner of Jesse’s Custom Concrete, is accused of accepting a total of $5,000 in down payments for two jobs that he allegedly abandoned. According to L&I, Espinoza did not work a single day on either project and never returned the money.

What’s more, the department said it suspended Espinoza’s contractor registration shortly before he collected the payments that gave rise to the criminal charges.

L&I said Espinoza failed to follow through on a payment plan for $6,500 in outstanding workers’ compensation premiums.

The department also said Espinoza owes $12,000 in fines on four civil infractions for unregistered contracting.

Espinoza pleaded not guilty to the theft charges in September, and trial in the case is set to begin Dec. 11.