Prefab Innovations: Fresno modular builder faces lawsuits and a state bid to revoke its license
Prefab Innovations, the Fresno modular and tiny-home builder registered as PreFab Innovations Inc., has a suspended California contractor license, a pending state case seeking to revoke it, and a lawsuit from Poverello House over 26 homes the nonprofit says were never built.
Poverello House, a Fresno nonprofit that serves homeless residents, sued the company and its founder in Fresno County Superior Court in August, KMPH FOX26 and Fresnoland reported. According to the complaint, the two sides signed a contract in March 2023 for 26 factory-built homes worth about $1.96 million, and the nonprofit paid a $964,482 deposit. It alleges that none of the homes were finished, stored or delivered and that the deposit was never returned, and it accuses the company of breach of contract, conversion and fraud. None of this has been proven. The company denies the claims and says the conditions needed to finish and deliver the units were not met.
State records reviewed by FOX26 show contractor license No. 1078820 suspended because the company did not meet workers' compensation requirements, and California law bars a contractor from contracting for licensed work while suspended. A separate disciplinary case, which Fresnoland said was filed through the office of Attorney General Rob Bonta, accuses the company, also doing business as Pocket Home Professionals, of diverting or failing to account for money, taking too much up front and abandoning a project. The state wants the license suspended or revoked and restitution ordered. That case is pending. The corporation is still listed as active, and the company told FOX26 it is serving customers but has left its Fresno site.
Fresnoland reported that other organizations and private customers across the Central Valley have filed cases alleging similar conduct. The Poverello case is expected to reach court proceedings in December.
For buyers paying a builder from savings or a construction loan, the Contractors State License Board sets the baseline. On home improvement work, including accessory dwelling units, the down payment may not exceed $1,000 or 10% of the price, whichever is less, and later payments must match work completed or materials delivered, according to CSLB. Claims against a contractor's license bond go to the surety that wrote it, and CSLB says it cannot promise that consumers will get money back.
Why it matters: Before a deposit or loan draw goes to a modular or ADU builder in California, check the CSLB record for license status, bond history and complaint disclosures, and pay only against work you can see on site.
If this affects you
- The Contractors State License Board's license check shows a California contractor's license status and links to its bond history, which names the surety that wrote the bond. cslb.ca.gov
- Claims against a California contractor's license bond are filed with the surety company, not with CSLB, and CSLB investigates complaints against the license itself. cslb.ca.gov
- CSLB says the down payment on home improvement work, including ADUs, cannot exceed $1,000 or 10% of the contract price, whichever is less. web.cslb.ca.gov
Sources
- Fresno's Poverello House sues contractor they say failed to build about $2 million in tiny homesFresnoland, Aug 27
- Poverello House sues contractor, alleges 26 Fresno tiny homes were never builtKMPH FOX26, Aug 27