Santa Ana Man Arrested in Fraud Case
A Santa Ana man was arrested Tuesday in an undercover sting operation designed to crack down on unlicensed contractors trying to profit from El Nino weather damage.
Wayne Durfey, 45, was arrested as part of an investigation by agents of the state Department of Insurance and the Contractors State License Board.
Investigators alleged that Durfey was an unlicensed contractor who, after learning that a home suffered wind damage from a tornado last month, offered to submit phony repair estimates to an insurance company for a nonexistent solar heating system.
The agencies said Durfey provided undercover investigators with a bogus estimate for “emergency repairs” to the nonexistent solar system as well as an estimate for a new system. He was arrested when he allegedly delivered a damaged solar heating system that was to be used as part of the insurance scheme.
Durfey remained in Los Angeles County Jail on Tuesday night on $25,000 bail, said Insurance Department spokeswoman Lisa Acheson. He is scheduled to be arraigned on felony charges today in Long Beach.
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