LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Our commitment to you, Las Vegas, is to fight for what's right and get to the heart of a problem. We have a new warning involving an unlicensed valley contractor.
State officials are investigating a man accused of collecting large down payments and then disappearing. Channel 13 spoke with a couple of his clients.
"Steven Jones, have you heard about him as a contractor doing business here," Channel 13 anchor, Tricia Kean, asked.
"Yes. We're quite familiar with him," David Behar, with Nevada State Contractors Board, said. "He's a repeat offender."
According to Behar, the board wants to hear from any possible clients.
"We have a number of ongoing cases involving him already," Behar said.
One of those people is Bridget Williams.
"I hired him to build me a designer walk-in closet," Williams said.
Williams added she put down $3,000 for a new closet last February. A contract describes the work Jones was supposed to do and pictures show he started the job.
"About a week later, he texted me and he's like, 'Hey. I need you to send me another $1,275 for labor.' I sent him a text back saying I'm not comfortable sending you that," Williams said.
Williams said she wanted to see more progress plus receipts for the materials he allegedly purchased for the job.
"He was like okay. I'll come and show you what I got today. Never came. Never came back," Williams said.
It's a similar story for Derrick Reed. A contract from October 2022 shows the work Jones was supposed to do in Reed's master bathroom.
"My bathroom shower, finish doing the shower, some drywalling, installing light fixtures, two custom cabinets and installing bathroom vanities and a tub," Reed said.
In all, Reed said he paid Jones about $6,000.
"He did tell me initially when we signed everything that it should only take three to four days," Reed said. "It took him almost three weeks to do what little work he did do."
Reed said Jones eventually abandoned his work. It's an issue Jones is accused of doing before.
"There's no electricity. There's no running nothing in there. The walls aren't up," business owner, Jameesa Wallace said.
Channel 13 first heard about Jones back in 2021. Two different businesses made claims they paid him for contractor work that ended up being substandard or never finished. At the time, he agreed to an interview with us but was a no-show. He wasn't heard from again until recently.
In the latest cases, both Williams and Reed filed complaints with North Las Vegas Justice Court, where judgments were made in their favor.
"I was able to prove to the courts what I gave him," Reed said.
Named in both judgments, along with Jones, is Keisha Taylor. Taylor appears to be the one accepting payments on behalf of Jones but she isn't being pursued by the Contractors Board.
"He takes a lot of money upfront from projects and then he abandons the work," Behar said. "So, if you've been victimized by this individual please reach out to us."
Channel 13 contacted Jones and Taylor. Both agreed to meet with us but Taylor didn't want to be on camera. She provided paperwork showing she and Jones have a joint bank account. However, payments only appear to go to Taylor because she's the primary account holder.
Meanwhile, Jones admits he's not a licensed contractor.
"I've been trying to get licensed in Nevada since I got here," Jones said.
He said he's just trying to make a living and claims all his clients know he's not licensed.
"If you ask me to do something and you're telling me you're going to pay me to do it, just stay with your agreement, just like I stay with mine," Jones said.
So we asked about his agreement to build a closet for Williams. He claims it was a dispute over money.
"I asked Bridget to start giving me the money towards her labor and she didn't give me no money towards the labor," Jones said.
Jones claims it was also a payment issue involving the bathroom remodel and that Reed was demanding work he never agreed to.
"It got to the point where I'm asking him, Derrick, you know this is not what's on the contract? You have to give me extra money," Jones said. "That's not what I charge to do this. So I'm not doing it at your rate, once you told me, by contract this is all you want me to do."
Jones tells Channel 13 he realizes he's at the center of a Contractors Board investigation and claims he plans to contact their office. The Contractors Board tells us they are still investigating. We'll be sure to follow this story and let you know what happens.
