A 48-year-old man, who prosecutors say misrepresented himself as a licensed contractor to four different homeowners before fleeing to the East Coast where he hid for more than two years, faces up to 16 months in state prison after his guilty pleas Wednesday.
Matthew Sean Breen of Montara pleaded no contest to two counts of contracting without a license and one count of a fraudulent check.
He will be sentenced April 9.
Three of the homeowners were on the coastside and the fourth in San Mateo.
Breen began home improvement projects in 2016 and 2017 but abandoned the jobs midway, making off with the victims money, prosecutors said.
He ran up a tab at a local hardware store and then bounced a check for payment of that bill, according to prosecutors.
Losses to victims were several hundred thousand dollars, said prosecutors.
Breen fled to the East Coast in July 2017 and remained in hiding for over two years, prosecutors said.
He was apprehended in Massachusetts, where he faced charges for resisting with arresting officers, and then extradited back to San Mateo County, prosecutors said.
Breen is in custody on $400,000 bail.
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