Mover Convicted of Price Gouging After Earthquake : Courts: Burbank man is sentenced to pay more than $5,000, work on an anti-graffiti crew, and serve two years’ probation.

A Burbank mover, convicted Thursday of overcharging San Fernando Valley residents for moving and storage costs in the days after the Jan. 17 Northridge earthquake, was sentenced to pay $5,300 in fines and restitution, perform 20 days of community service and serve two years’ probation, the Los Angeles city attorney’s office announced.

Paul Helbert, 27, of Burbank is the third mover convicted of charging earthquake victims excessively for services, the city attorney’s office said.

Four complaints lodged on a Public Utilities Commission hot line number prompted the investigation into Helbert’s business practices, said P. Greg Parham, the deputy city attorney who handled the case. Investigators found that Helbert charged about 25% more than the state-approved cost of services in those cases, the release said.

Helbert, who operated Miles Transfer & Storage Co. in Camarillo, pleaded no contest to two counts of exceeding the maximum service charge, and one count each of operating without proper permits and failure to carry liability insurance, Parham said.

Helbert also will work 20 days on an anti-graffiti crew operated by Caltrans or the Los Angeles Police Department, Parham said.

One of the biggest concerns was the fact that Helbert operated “fairly significant vehicles on highways without public liability insurance,” Parham said.

Since the Jan. 17 earthquake, the Public Utilities Commission’s special investigations unit has investigated 45 consumer complaints against 12 moving companies working in the San Fernando Valley, said Larry McNeely, who heads the unit.

Jeronimo Maldonado, 32, a Pacoima mover who was convicted of overcharging earthquake victims, was ordered to pay $2,700 in fines and restitution. Thomas J. Smith, 42, who operated L.A. Moving, Storage & Distribution in Arleta, was convicted in May and ordered to pay $3,000.

A Los Angeles police detective also contacted the commission’s special investigations unit because he suspected members of Maldonado’s crew were looting damaged buildings, McNeely said.

Richard Serrano, who worked for Maldonado, was charged with one count of residential burglary after police arrested him at a quake-damaged building in the 4400 block of Colbath Avenue in Sherman Oaks on the night of Jan. 22, McNeely said. Serrano had been at the apartment building earlier in the day moving a tenant, McNeely said.

McNeely said his unit is still reviewing possible administrative or legal action against the remaining nine movers they have investigated.