Source: http://www.bpelsg.ca.gov/consumers/convicted.shtml
Timestamp: 2017-03-25 00:00:41
Document Index: 452916138

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 123', '§115', '§ 115', '§ 6788', '§ 6787', '§ 6787', '§529', '§532', '§ 470', '§ 487', '§487', '§115', '§6787', '§115', '§ 470', '§470']

Criminal Actions - Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists
Criminal Actions - Updated April 2012
The Board's Enforcement Unit works with the Department of Consumer Affairs' Division of Investigation to investigate cases involving unlicensed practice and other allegations of criminal violations. These cases are forwarded for criminal prosecution to the Office of the District Attorney in the appropriate county. The following are brief summaries of the actions taken by the courts. Summaries are posted once the Board receives the warrant or conviction information from the courts. Summaries remain on the website for five (5) years after the date of issuance of the warrant, date of conviction, or until dismissed under Penal Code section 1203.4, whichever occurs first. For further information regarding these matters, please contact the Enforcement Unit at BPELSG.Enforcement.Information@dca.ca.gov
Click on any one of the following names to read details of his or her conviction. You may also move to the end of the list and scroll through the complete file of conviction summaries.
NOTE: Due to budgetary constraints, the Board is unable to timely update this page with information regarding current actions. Please contact the Board's Enforcement Unit at (916) 263-2284 or BPELSG.Enforcement.Information@dca.ca.gov for current updates.
ANDIKA, AGUSTO
CLARK, CHRISTOPHER EARL
HAN, SONG CHOL also known as HAN, JESSE SONG
LORA, CARLOS ENRIQUE
COMEAU, WILLIAM
RUSSELL, RICHARD MATTHEW
ENGLE, NOBLE L.
SHERLING, WARREN
Examination subversion
June 21, 1996: Bench warrant issued with $5,000 bail
On June 14, 1995, the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office filed misdemeanor charges against Andika, alleging he violated Business and Professions Code § 123 by engaging in conduct which subverted a licensing examination, specifically, by instructing his son, Rivano Andika, to subvert the examination. On June 21, 1996, an arrest warrant with bail in the amount of $5,000 was issued and is still outstanding. At the time of this publication, this matter remains unresolved and there is no conviction.
November 30, 1999: Bench warrant issued, bail of $2,500
The Board investigated allegations that Christopher Earl Clark was practicing civil engineering and representing himself as a professional engineer; that he had fraudulently altered a professional engineer's stamp to make it appear as his own; and that he submitted civil engineering plans bearing the altered stamp and his signature to City of Yorba Linda Building Department. Clark is not licensed by the Board.
On November 9, 1999, two misdemeanor counts were filed against Clark alleging that he violated Penal Code §§115(a) and 487(a) for offering forged instruments for filing (civil engineering plans) and grand theft of property. Since Clark failed to appear at the arraignment hearing in the Superior Court of the County of Orange, a bench warrant with bail in the amount of $2,500.00 was issued and is still outstanding.
November 26, 1996: Arrest warrant issued, $2,500 bail
On November 6, 1996, three felony and three misdemeanor counts were filed against Thomas E. Clark in the Superior Court of Santa Cruz County. It is alleged that Clark violated Penal Code §§ 115(a) and 532(a) and Business and Professions Code § 6788 (felony counts) and Business and Professions Code §§ 6787(a),(b), and (f) (misdemeanor counts).
The felony charges specifically allege that Clark, in December 1995, willfully and unlawfully offered a false and forged instrument to be filed in a public office (engineering plans for a residence); that he knowingly, by false and fraudulent representations, defrauded consumers of money or property in an amount of $400.00; and that he committed a felony by violating Business and Professions Code § 6787 by offering or performing engineering services for the repair of damage to a residential structure caused by a natural disaster for which a state of emergency was declared.
The misdemeanor charges allege that Clark unlawfully practiced or offered to practice civil engineering, that he unlawfully presented and attempted to file as his own the certificate of registration of another person, and that he unlawfully represented himself, and used the restricted title, as a professional engineer. On November 26, 1996, an arrest warrant in the amount of $2,500.00 was issued and is still outstanding.
September 3, 2003: Three years on probation; $6,000 restitution fine payable to the Board
The Board investigated allegations that William Comeau of Comeau Engineers Inc., Consulting Mechanical Engineers, represented himself as a licensed professional engineer, stamped and signed documents using a former employee's professional engineer license number, and submitted those documents to city and county building permit departments as well as to the Office of the State Architect. Comeau is not licensed by the Board. The Board referred this case to the local district attorney.
On February 5, 2003, Comeau was charged with five felony counts for falsely impersonating another and forgery under Penal Code §§529, 470(b) and (d), 115(a) and 532(a). On September 3, 2003, in the Municipal Court for the County of Los Angeles, Comeau entered a no contest plea to the reduced misdemeanor charge of false representation, a violation of Penal Code §532(a). The other charges against Comeau were dismissed.
Comeau was placed on probation for three years with conditions. These conditions included the requirement that Comeau pay a restitution fine in the amount of $6,000 to the Board.
ENGLE, NOBLE L. (Click here for Accusation 529-A) (Click here for Citation 5038-U)
Civil Engineer License Revoked
July 9, 2003: $3,430 fine, three years on probation
The Board investigated complaints in October of 2001 that Noble Engle and Mesa Engineering were advertising and practicing engineering and land surveying without a valid license and without a licensed engineer as an owner/officer of the company. Engle's license as a Civil Engineer was revoked by the Board in 1994. The Board referred the matter to the local district attorney.
On March 25, 2003, the Tehama County District Attorney filed misdemeanor charges against Engle for violation of Business and Professions Code sections 6787(a) and (g) and 8792(a) and (i) in that he practiced civil engineering and managed a civil engineering business without appropriate registration or proper license and practiced land surveying and managed a land surveying business without appropriate registration or proper license.
On July 9, 2003, Engle pled no contest to the charge of violating Section 8792(i) and was sentenced to 180 days in jail. The jail time was suspended, and Engle was placed on probation for three years. He was also ordered to pay a fine of $3,430 and restitution of $500 through the District Attorney's office.
Orange County: September 16, 2003: Probation, 45 days community service, restitution
Los Angeles County: November 14, 2003: Five years probation, 240 days of electronic monitoring, $61,090 restitution to 20 victims
The Board investigated allegations that Song Chol Han, also known as Jesse Han, represented himself as a licensed professional engineer as well as a licensed professional geologist, stamped and signed documents using the licenses and seals of licensed professional engineers and a licensed professional geologist, both in Los Angeles County and Orange County, California. Han is not licensed by the Board. The Board referred the matter to the local district attorneys.
On November 19, 2002, the Los Angeles District Attorney filed thirty-four misdemeanor charges against Han. He was charged with eighteen counts of forgery under Penal Code § 470(d); one count of grand theft: property over $400 under § 487(a); one count of insufficient funds under ­ 476(a); ten counts of unlawful use of a professional engineer's license; and four counts of practicing geology without a license.
On May 14, 2003, in the Municipal Court for the County of Los Angeles, Han entered a plea of no contest and was found guilty of nine of the eighteen forgery charges and the charge of insufficient funds. The Court dismissed the other charges.
On November 14, 2003, Han was placed on probation for five years with conditions, including completion of 240 days of electronic monitoring, restitution fines of $200, investigative costs of $3,500 to the Los Angeles Building and Safety Department, and payment of $61,090 to twenty victims of his violation of §487(a).
On April 23, 2003, the Orange County District Attorney filed felony charges against Han for forgery of a false soils and geology report and counterfeiting the seal and handwriting of a licensed professional engineer, violations of Penal Code 470(a). An additional felony count was added on August 7, 2003, for violation of 487(a) for felony grand theft.
On September 16, 2003, Han pled guilty to both counts and was placed on formal probation for three years with conditions. He was sentenced to serve 90 days in the Orange County Jail, but jail time was stayed pending completion of successful probation. He was ordered to pay restitution as well as a restitution fine, complete 45 days of community service, and pay the costs of probation. After 18 months, if restitution is paid, fines, and fees are paid and community service is completed, Han will be eligible for informal probation.
January 11, 2002: 2 years conditional sentence, 90 days in jail/weekend work/work furlough, $7,350 investigative cost reimbursement
August 29, 2002: Active warrant issued due to failure to appear for court-ordered commitment
The Board investigated allegations that Carlos Enrique Lora represented himself as a licensed professional engineer, stamped documents using a professional engineer's license number, and submitted those documents to various city and county building permit departments. Lora is not licensed by the Board.
On November 20, 2001, Lora was charged with four felony counts for attempting to file a false or forged instrument in a public agency, violations of Penal Code §115(a), and with one misdemeanor count for practicing electrical engineering without a license, a violation of Business and Professions Code §6787(a).
On January 11, 2002, in the Superior Court for the County of Placer, Lora entered a no contest plea to the misdemeanor charge of practicing electrical engineering without a license and to the reduced misdemeanor charge of altering an official record, a violation of Penal Code §115.3. The other charges against Lora were dismissed. Lora was granted a conditional sentence for two years with conditions. These conditions included a 90-day jail sentence to be served through the weekend work/work furlough program. Other conditions required Lora to reimburse the Board's investigative costs in the amount of $7,350.00, and to pay $8,000.00 to the Board of Education for its scholarship fund.
On August 29, 2002, Lora failed to show for his court-ordered commitment and an active warrant has been issued and placed in his file.
October 20, 1997: Warrant issued with $5,000 bail
The Board investigated a complaint alleging that Richard Matthew Russell offered to practice and performed civil and structural engineering for repair work on a residence in Mill Valley. Russell is not a registered engineer. On September 29, 1997, the Marin County District Attorney's office filed three misdemeanor charges against Russell, alleging he violated Business and Professions Code sections 6787(a), (g), and (j) by willfully and unlawfully offering to practice professional engineering without legal authorization, managing and operating a professional engineering business, and practicing civil engineering without a registration.
On October 20, 1997, Russell failed to appear at the arraignment. The Marin County Municipal Court issued an arrest warrant with bail of $5,000.
September 19, 1995: Bench warrant issued 9/19/95 with $5,000 bail
April 15, 1997: Three years on probation, 180 days in jail, suspended
The Board investigated a complaint which alleged Warren Sherling signed and sealed civil engineering reports using the seal and signature of a professional engineer and submitted the reports to the Riverside County Planning Department. Sherling is not a registered engineer. On July 12, 1995, the Riverside County District Attorney's Office filed four felony charges against Sherling, alleging he violated Penal Code § 470 in that he willfully and unlawfully, with intent to defraud, falsely made, altered, forged, and counterfeited four separate civil engineering reports; and that he counterfeited and forged the seal and handwriting of a Registered Civil Engineer on the reports and attempted to pass them as true knowing them to be false, with the intent to prejudice, damage, and defraud the County of Riverside. On September 19, 1995, an arrest warrant with bail set in the amount of $5,000 was issued. On April 15, 1997, Sherling entered a plea of guilty to a misdemeanor violation of Penal Code §470. The other charges were dismissed by the District Attorney's Office in the interest of justice. Based on his plea of guilty, Sherling was placed on summary probation for a period of 36 months under certain terms and conditions. These conditions include a requirement that Sherling serve 180 days in the Riverside County jail; however, 179 days of this term were suspended on the condition that he comply with all of the other terms and conditions of probation. He is also required to pay restitution in an amount to be determined by the Court and to submit to searches of his person, auto, home, premises, storage, and personal or leased property with or without reasonable cause for the detection of forged documents and stamps by law enforcement.