SHELTON, Wash. — A contractor accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from potential clients, pleaded not guilty to theft charges Tuesday morning.
Investigators from the state’s Department of Labor & Industries and Attorney General’s Office said Stephen Ates was paid for work jobs he never completed from clients in Kitsap, Mason, and Pierce Counties.
Ates appeared, via video, in a Mason County Courtroom to enter his plea Tuesday morning.
“He needs to face all of us,” said Cynthia Quiett, one of Ates’ former clients who came to Shelton hoping to see Ates in the courtroom.
Quiett, and her husband Mikal, said they paid Ates a $50,000 deposit to build a custom summer home in rural Mason County.
They told state investigators no work was ever done and they never got their money back.
Investigators identified nine former clients who said they paid Ates a total of $667,000 for what were described as “dream homes.”
Charlie Parnell said after paying Ates $114,000, he only got a foundation and some framing done at his new Pierce County home.
Parnell said the work suddenly stopped and subcontractors were told they were not getting paid by Ates.
“Almost a month went by and nobody was showing up. I was calling him every day,” Parnel said.
A spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries recommends consumers check the license status, and license history of contractors at the agency’s website.
Ates is due back in court in January.
Parnell, the Quietts, and other former clients will be there waiting for him, and justice.
”I do want to see him pay for his crimes,” Quiett said. “For all of us.”