Police say man was bogus contractor

Orange County authorities Friday were looking for dozens of people who may have been scammed by a man accused of posing as a contractor and taking homeowners’ money before abandoning the jobs.

Palavi Tonga, 28, was arrested Wednesday by Anaheim police and booked on three counts of grand theft, said Sgt. Rick Martinez.

According to police, Tonga sought out three Anaheim homeowners, falsely telling them he was a licensed contractor and offering them low-cost repairs.

In July, police said, Tonga offered to repair an Anaheim woman’s roof. She gave him a check for hundreds of dollars but never saw him again, they said.

In September, Tonga allegedly negotiated a deal with two Anaheim neighbors to replace their asphalt driveways with concrete. Police said Tonga and an assistant, apparently a hired day laborer, demolished the driveways. The homeowners gave Tonga checks totaling $1,300 to buy construction materials, but he never returned to finish the work, authorities said.

The three Anaheim victims were senior citizens, Martinez said. Police will ask the Orange County district attorney to charge Tonga with elder abuse as well as grand theft, he said.

Police said Tonga went by the name Paul and owned Paul’s Construction Co. in Westminster. Since the arrest, police have received numerous calls from people who think they, too, were victimized by Tonga, Martinez said.

Tonga is suspected of scamming about 40 people in Orange County for tens of thousands of dollars, Martinez said. Anyone with information is asked to call Anaheim police at (714) 765-1938.

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my-thuan.tran@latimes.com