Man arrested on suspicion of cheating older residents

Deepa Bharath

NEWPORT BEACH -- Officials have arrested a man suspected of scamming

several local senior citizens by allegedly making false promises to clean

their air ducts to eliminate fire hazards in their homes.

According to the Contractors State License Board, a subsidiary of the

Sacramento-based California Department of Consumer Affairs, Duane Kressin

was operating as an air-conditioning and heating contractor without a

license.

Kressin has been charged with 15 counts of elder abuse, 18 counts of

felony grand theft and four misdemeanor counts of contracting without a

license.

He used “scare tactics” to coax his customers into paying him money to

do work he did not do, said Lynette Blumhardt, spokeswoman for the

Contractors State License Board, which conducted the investigation in

collaboration with the Newport Beach Police Department.

Blumhardt said Kressin almost exclusively targeted senior citizens and

that he specifically targeted Newport Beach and Corona del Mar.

She said he frightened seniors by telling them their furnaces were

fire hazards.

“When you’re living alone and somebody tells you that, you get scared

and you want to get it fixed,” Blumhardt said.

In one case, Kressin told an 89-year-old woman who hired him to clean

air ducts that her furnace needed to be replaced because it was a fire

hazard and that the manufacturer was offering a $1,500 rebate.

Blumhardt said although the woman’s furnace had been trouble-free,

Kressin’s scare tactics frightened her into giving him a $2,000 check.

Officials said he then drove her to a bank where she gave him an

additional cashier’s check for $3,106.

Kressin showed up the next day and replaced the furnace but never

installed her air-conditioning unit nor gave her the promised rebate,

officials said.

Officials said Kressin pleaded guilty in August 2000 to 14 counts of

contracting without a license. He was then ordered by a municipal court

judge to pay restitution to his victims. Investigators allege he did not

make those payments and that he unlawfully took money from more people to

pay off his earlier victims.

Newport Beach police and the state department started the

investigation of the case in January. The Police Department had also put

out a warning to community members cautioning them about Kressin.

Seniors are susceptible to such crimes because they “have cash in the

bank and have money at their disposal,” Blumhardt said.

“They are also more trusting,” she said. “In their world, words and

promises mean something. But that’s not necessarily true in today’s

world.”

The Contractors State License Board will hold a Senior Scam Stopper

Seminar at 10:30 a.m. today at the Oasis Senior Center in Corona del Mar.

Blumhardt said the board targeted Corona del Mar because it has a high

concentration of seniors. More information on the issue can be obtained

at the Web site o7 https://www.cslb.ca.govf7 or by calling (800)

321-CSLB.

BOX

PROTECT YOURSELF

Here are some tips from the license board for senior citizens trying

to hire contractors:

* Hire only licensed contractors and ask to see the pocket license.

* Be wary of door-to-door solicitations.

* Don’t be pressured into making immediate decisions.

* Get a written contract.

* Get at least three bids and check references.

* Ask a friend or relative to review the contract before signing.

* Don’t pay more than 10% or $1,000, whichever is less, as a down

payment.

* Don’t pay cash, and don’t let the payments get ahead of the work.