Fresno County Sheriff Warns Residents of Driveway Paving Scam

The Fresno County Sheriff's Office has received reports of individuals posing as contractors approaching homeowners door-to-door in the Shaver Lake area, offering discounted driveway paving services and demanding upfront cash payments, with victims ending up with substandard work, no work at all, or final bills that bear little resemblance to what was originally discussed.

The scam follows a recognizable pattern. Crews arrive unannounced, sometimes measuring driveways or porches before the homeowner has agreed to anything, and pitch a steep discount by claiming they have leftover asphalt from a nearby job and can complete the work quickly. The urgency is manufactured: the materials are rarely actually leftover, and the quality of the paving, when any is laid, is often poor. In some cases, victims report being pressured to pay far more once the job is underway or finished, with final costs climbing two, three, or even ten times the initial estimate, according to reports compiled by law enforcement.

The scammers insist on cash, which is central to how the scheme evades accountability. Traveling crews that collect payment in cash can leave the area before a homeowner fully grasps what happened, making it difficult for authorities to trace them.

The Sheriff's Office urged residents not to do business with anyone who approaches them this way. Verify that any contractor is licensed and insured through the California Contractors State License Board before agreeing to any work. Require a written contract that includes the company's name, address, phone number, license number, and a detailed scope of work. Avoid cash payments entirely; use a check or credit card to ensure there is a record of the transaction.

The Fresno County warning mirrors alerts issued the same week by the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office, which reported similar incidents in Huasna Township in January and in Nipomo more recently. The SLO County Sheriff's Office tweeted a public alert on March 18, describing traveling crews using the same leftover-materials pitch and cash-only payment demands. Neither sheriff's office has stated that the same individuals are operating across both counties, but the modus operandi described in each jurisdiction is nearly identical.