The Nevada State Contractors Board has received complaints about two unlicensed contractors preying on homeowners in Northern Nevada.
Richard Eaton, who also goes by alias names Jim Eaton, Richard Errington, and James Errington, allegedly provides bids to install new fencing, claiming to be affiliated with a licensed entity who currently maintains an inactive status with the Contractors Board. His ploy is to negotiate a contract and produce drawings and a convincing supply list for a homeowner’s project, demand 50 percent payment up-front for immediate installation, and then fails to return phone calls or make himself available to complete the project. Payments and supplies are never reimbursed or returned to the homeowner.
Luke Schopper, who also goes by alias names Luke Hunter and Luke Shop, is a former license holder whose license was revoked in 2010 for multiple violations of construction law. Schopper continues to perform work as an unlicensed contractor with prior convictions, often claiming to be affiliated with a licensed entity to deceive homeowners. His victims allege he bids projects related to landscaping and paving, demands large cash payments, and then performs substandard work that’s typically abandoned without completion once payments begin to exceed the work being performed or he obtains a new contract.