A Consumer Fraud Complaint provided to the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office, by a 91-year-old Porterville resident, led investigators to the residence of Michael Shawn Hackett, located at 25488 Avenue 84, Terra Bella. Investigators discovered that Hackett had approached the elderly female and convinced her that she needed unnecessary construction repairs to her Porterville home. Investigators discovered that the elderly female was charged eleven thousand dollars for the painting of a driveway.

Investigators were able to identify the construction business as “Mike Hackett’s Custom Construction”, located within the County of Tulare. Investigators determined that Hackett was an unlicensed contractor and that he had appropriated the CSLB license numbers of two other unknowing parties. As investigators continued with this investigation, additional complaints were found registered with the Contractor State License Board since 1998.

On 12/8/05, at approximately 7:00 a.m., District Attorney Investigators and members of the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department traveled to Mike Hackett’s address at 25488 Avenue 84, Terra Bella, and served a search warrant. The search warrant sought records and evidence of Hackett’s involvement in this matter and for other related criminal offenses. The suspect Hackett was taken into custody without incident. The suspect Hackett was arrested for elder abuse, grand theft, contracting without a license, illegal advertisement, and use of another persons CSLB license. Bail was set at $50,000.

Elder Abuse is actively investigated by The Tulare County District Attorney’s Office. Elder Abuse comes in many forms that include physical, financial, psychological, neglect and abandonment. Any one who notices out of the ordinary changes to an elder’s appearance or behavior, deteriorating health or personal hygiene, and missing possessions or money should take note and contact the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office Elder Abuse Investigations at 733-6600 or Adult Protective Services at 1-800-438-2111 or 733-6585.

Additionally, the TCDA Office urges consumers to follow these tips when hiring any contractor.

Hire only licensed contractors.
Verify the license owner, business name and address and ask for a picture I.D.
Verify the contractor’s license with the CSLB at www.cslb.ca.gov or call (800) 321-CSLB (2752)
Get three bids and check references
Get a written contract
Do not pay more than 10 percent down or $1,000, whichever is less
Do not let payments get ahead of the work
Do not pay cash

The Tulare County District Attorney’s Office is requesting that any other complaints against this business or against Michael Hackett be submitted to this office by calling Mark Lopez, Tulare County District Attorney’s Office Consumer Fraud Investigations, at (559) 733-6600.

Contact ADA Don H. Gallian at 733-6411 can obtain any additional information.