An Alberta homebuilder who angered clients in Fort McMurray, Alta., after the 2016 wildfire with construction delays, failed inspections and lawsuits has been charged for his dealings with fire victims in California.

Kunal Nagpal was charged in October with a series of felonies and misdemeanours that include misrepresentation and contracting without a licence, stemming from a year-long investigation by officials in Sonoma County, north of San Francisco. 

If found guilty, he could face fines of up to $25,000 and three years in jail.

News of the charges was welcomed by some of Nagpal’s former clients in Fort McMurray. The massive and fast-moving wildfire in May 2016 devastated the community and reduced 2,400 buildings to ash, leaving thousands homeless and on the hunt for contractors to rebuild. 

“One word: ecstatic,” said Carrie Pendergast, a 57-year-old heavy equipment operator who hired Nagpal to rebuild her home in early 2017.   

“Or flabbergasted,” her husband, Bill, said. “I guess because now that sort of meant that there was more people that fell victim to him.”

The Pendergasts fired Nagpal, in part, because two months after their agreed December 2017 move-in date, the bank assessed that the build was only 46 per cent complete. They hired a different company to finish their home and are still tied up in civil litigation with Nagpal and have racked up more than $25,000 in legal fees. 

“We will likely never see a red cent anyway. But our point is … we don’t want to pay him something he doesn’t deserve,” Carrie said.

“So, we’re at a loss, you know. Here we sit, we still can’t sell our house, we can’t move, we can’t do much other than incur more legal fees.”

At the same time, said Bill, the charges in California mean that “somebody actually finally caught up with this guy and maybe now something will get done.”

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