Bishop - Bishop couple warns of contractor scam

Residents are being reminded to exercise caution when dealing with door-to-door salesmen and unfamiliar contractors, especially those from out of the area, after a Bishop couple was recently taken for $500 cash in a suspected tree-trimming scam.
Two Rocking K residents, Gayla and Martin Wolf, believed they were hiring an out-of-the-area contractor to help them trim and care for trees on their property last weekend.
It appears, however, they were allegedly being scammed by a smooth talker.
According to Gayla Wolf, her husband, Martin, was approached by a man in his mid-30s last Friday as he sat reading the newspaper on the porch.
“He looked about 35. He was very clean, very nice looking and he was dressed nice,” said Gayla.
The man identified himself as “Gil Martinez” and asked Martin if he needed any work done around his house, explaining that he was a tree trimmer from the Fresno area who comes to Inyo County every summer to pick up extra work.

Gayla and Martin Wolf sit on their porch, where Martin first met a man who identified himself as Gil Martinez, and offered to trim some trees for the couple. Martin paid the man $500, but Martinez never returned to do the work and has not returned phone calls since. Photo by Mike Gervais

Gayla said Martinez claimed that he would be trimming trees for nearby neighbors and that he had a big job in the Paradise area and would be in the Eastern Sierra for about a week.
Martinez offered to trim and use a fungicide on the Wolfs’ trees for $2,200, if Martin agreed to put down a $500 deposit.
By coincidence, Gayla said, she and her husband had recently cashed in a jar full of coins the couple had collected over the past 10 years, and Martin happened to have $500 cash in his pocket.
Martin paid the deposit and signed a contract with the man, who claimed to work for Arbor-Care Palm Tree Specialist, out of Fresno. Efforts to locate a business called Arbor Care Palm Tree Specialist in the Fresno area were not successful.
Martinez gave the couple a copy of the contract and a business card with his name and phone number on it and a promise that he would return Monday to do the work.
Martinez allegedly returned to the Wolfs’ home the following day, Saturday, saying that he had forgotten to get the Wolfs’ phone number.
Even stranger, Gayla said, Martinez returned again Sunday afternoon, Father’s Day, to tell Gayla and Martin that he had overlooked a tree on their property and would need another $250 that day.
Gayla said she refused to pay him then, as Martin was taking a nap and she did not want to wake him, but Martinez insisted.
“He said he really needed the money on Sunday, and wouldn’t wait until Monday,” Gayla said, noting that is when she began to grow suspicious of Martinez.
After that encounter with Martinez, Gayla and Martin reviewed the contract he had left and consulted with friends about the job.
Martin was advised to verify Martinez’s contractor’s license number on the contract, but Martinez did not leave any information about his contractor’s license. There was also no proof that Martinez is insured, or licensed to trim trees.
Upon further scrutiny, Gayla said, she and Martin learned that Martinez, who said he was from Fresno, had listed a Bishop address on his business card, 130 E. South St., which carried a Fresno phone number.
“I got in the car and drove into town and found the address. It’s the parking lot of High Country Lumber,” Gayla said. “I went to the house across the street and knocked on the door, but no one was there.”
After that discovery, Martin called Martinez and left him a message, saying that he wanted proof that he had a contractor’s license or his $500 back by Monday.
“He never came on Monday, and he never did the work or called Martin back,” Gayla said.
The Wolfs contacted the Inyo County Sheriff’s Department about the scam and provided a deputy with a description, phone number and the address Martinez had given them.
“We told the Sheriff’s Department, but we haven’t heard back from them,” Gayla said. “I don’t know if they are doing anything or if they have other things of interest.”
Several phone calls were made to the Inyo County Sheriff’s Department but no information was forthcoming as of press time.
“We were just totally snowed,” Gayla said. “He was real sociable, talking all the time. He was nice and polite, but everything he told us was a lie. We’ve both been stung before in the past – we’re in our 70s – but here in Bishop, we would never expect anything like that.”
Efforts to speak to Martinez for this story were unsuccessful.
Dan Stone, owner of Stone Equipment Rentals and a founder of the Owens Valley Contractors and Vendor’s Association, said residents can protect themselves from fraud by checking for a contractor’s license and insurance information for anyone doing work at their home.
“They should have a contractor license number any place they advertise their name,” Stone said. “You can then look up the contractor license number online.”
While phone scams are more common here in the Owens Valley, residents should also be aware of contractor scams or unscrupuluous handymen.
“You hear a lot about them,” Stone said. “Frequently they do yard work or tree trimming, that’s why it’s important for you to ask those things. You can do that with anyone who works at your home.”
Stone and the OVCVA are currently creating a public information packet to help residents protect themselves from scam artists. When that pamphlet is finished it will be available at the organization’s Web site, ovcva.org.