13 More Arrested in Quake Repair Scam : Crime: State investigators posing as Reseda and Van Nuys residents solicit bids from the unlicensed contractors.

Another round of arrests has been made in the continuing investigation of men passing themselves off as licensed contractors to cash in on construction repair projects caused by the Jan. 17 Northridge earthquake, the Los Angeles city attorney’s office said Thursday.

The 13 arrests announced Thursday were the result of sting operations in the San Fernando Valley in which investigators posed as homeowners, authorities said. This brings to 26 the number arrested in the alleged scams.

One of the individuals arrested in the latest sting operation is believed to have come all the way from Ontario, Canada, to profit from construction work, said Don Cocek, the deputy city attorney prosecuting the cases.

State Contractor’s Licensing Board investigators identified the alleged con men through newspaper advertisements, notices posted at local building supply and hardware stores and flyers distributed around the Valley.

In the sting operation, about 10 state investigators were stationed at houses in Reseda and Van Nuys. They solicited bids on repair and improvement projects in March and April, authorities said.

The sting operation and investigative team was formed to stop the kind of widespread fraud that plagued Florida homeowners in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew more than two years ago.

Cocek and other city officials warned that such scam operations have become prevalent the last two months as residents begin to receive insurance settlements and federal financial assistance to repair damaged homes.

The defendants are scheduled for arraignment June 28 in Van Nuys.

Charged in the most recent sting were: William Donohue, 48, of Canoga Park; Manouchehr F. Manizani, 54, of Canoga Park; Jose Moreno, 47, of Canoga Park; George Lynn Gonzalez, 49, of Shadow Hills; Michael D. Knight, 39, of North Hollywood; Phillips Martin, 47, of Van Nuys; William Henry Parlee, 58, of North Hills; Victor Risiglione, 48, of Chatsworth; John Dale Eyler, 35, of Eagle Rock; Michael Benmoshe, 39, of Reseda; Jesse Vicente Lopez, 20, of North Hollywood; Tony Simaan Idilbi, 29, of West Hills, and Salvador Muro Lozano, 55, of Reseda.