A man is facing seven years in prison after Santa Barbara County prosecutors say he admitted running a fire equipment inspection scam which had at least 1300 victims statewide.
Investigators say a company calling itself Red Mountain Security and Fire Protection would send invoices to businesses for inspections of fire safety equipment which never occurred. Many businesses just paid the invoices, with the total loss estimated at more than a half million dollars statewide.
Authorities caught on to the scam when someone at a business in Santa Barbara County questioned one of the invoices, and called the county fire department, which alerted prosecutors.
Robert Musich of West Covina pled guilty to multiple charges stemming from the scam. As the result of a plea deal, he’ll be sentenced to seven years in prison, and will have to pay more than a half million dollars in restitution and fines.