Full Notification

Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s detectives are looking for potential victims of an unlicensed contractor scam after multiple Santa Clarita Valley homeowners reported to the sheriff’s station they were victimized by a suspect who collected thousands of dollars for home improvement projects, without completing any of the work or delivering products as promised.

Richard Bannister, age 52, was arrested by Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s detectives on January 13, 2020, and charged with grand theft. After further investigation, the case was presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office on February 3, 2020, and five felonies and two misdemeanors were subsequently filed against Bannister.

Bannister is an ex-employee of a construction company, who possibly may have used his prior employment to contact homeowners and establish credibility.The investigation revealed he did not have a contractor’s license. 

The investigation alleges Bannister collected a majority of the total cost of each project prior to beginning work. Bannister would then never return to complete the job despite multiple messages, emails and phone calls from frustrated clients.

Some of the victims included a senior citizen who paid Banister over $30,000 for work on his home that was never finished.  The investigation revealed these funds were unlawfully diverted by Bannister.   

Another victim paid Bannister thousands of dollars to start work on adding a bathroom in her house. After repeated phone calls, Bannister finally agreed to refund the victim half the payment.  After the victim took the check to her bank for depositing, she was informed by the bank that the check had bounced, and the account that it was written from had insufficient funds to cover it.

Not only was Bannister allegedly taking payment for construction work that was never completed, but he also stands accused of selling appliances for a discounted price, and never delivering the product. Bannister offered to sell a refrigerator retailing for $7,000 at a discounted rate of $4,500. The victim wrote him a check, however the appliance never arrived.

Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s detectives are investigating to determine if there are other unreported incidents and victims. Suspect Richard Bannister, pictured, is described as a male White adult, 52-years-old, 5’10, and approximately 250 lbs.

Potential victims or witnesses are encouraged to call Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station at (661) 255-1121, to report suspected crimes. 

 
Sent by: Shirley Miller, Public Information Officer 
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department  
Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station  
(661) 255-1121 Ext. 5804 
E-mail: [email protected]

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Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station polices the City of Santa Clarita and the unincorporated communities and a portion of the Angeles National Forest, as well as Bouquet Canyon, Canyon Country, Castaic, Gorman, Hasley Canyon, Newhall, Neenach, Sand Canyon, Santa Clarita, Saugus, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Sleepy Valley, Southern Oaks, Stevenson Ranch, Sunset Point, Tesoro del Valle, Valencia, Val Verde, West Hills and West Ranch. 

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Alex Villanueva, Sheriff 
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department