Investigative Story on Attic Projects' Unscrupulous Business Practices

Which U.S. company has been fined a staggering $82.8 billion?” Bank of America, that’s who. That’s almost three times as much as the No. 2 company on this infamous list, JP Morgan Chase, with $36 billion for violations, barely ahead of No. 3 BP at $35.6B. The rest of the Top 10 includes Volkswagen ($26B), Citigroup ($25.5B), Wells Fargo ($21.7B), Deutsche Bank ($18.3B), UBS ($16.8), Goldman Sachs ($16.3B) and Johnson & Johnson ($14.7B). Here is the full list of the Top 100 companies who have been fined the most: Click here.

The list of companies who cheat the public stretches from New York to Asia. For the lesser-known local companies across the country, fraudulent business practices run rampant too. Attic Projects is one such business. Based in San Diego and Orange County, California, Attic Projects and co-owner Nave Black claim it is “California’s #1 Crawl Space And Attic Service Provider,” however, of the 70 Orange County companies listed and rated on the first page of an online search of industry-related businesses, Attic Projects is not listed. Same result in San Diego: of the 30 companies listed and rated on the first page of an online search of industry-related businesses, Attic Projects is not listed. See the screen shots below.

Attic Projects touts itself as “California's #1 Crawl Space And Attic Service Provider" yet it not even listed among San Diego's Top 70 companies in its field, nor is it in the Top 30 companies in Orange County. These false claims has resulted in an investigation by government organizations. Attic Projects also falsely claims it is "Backed by dozens of 5-star reviews on Yelp, yet it is NOT even listed in Yelp’s “Top 10 Best Crawl Space Companies in Southern California." — Attic Projects touts itself as “California’s #1 Crawl Space And Attic Service Provider” yet it not even listed among San Diego’s Top 70 companies in its field, nor is it in the Top 30 companies in Orange County. These false claims have resulted in an investigation by government organizations. Attic Projects also falsely claims it is “Backed by dozens of 5-star reviews on Yelp,” yet it is NOT even listed in Yelp’s “Top 10 Best Crawl Space Companies in Southern California.”

When California Business Journal emailed Attic Projects’ executive team requesting a comment and explanation for its deceptive claims, Attic Projects nor Nave Black responded. According to Joyia Emard, Public Affairs Manager of the Contractors State License Board, “Advertising must tell the truth and not mislead consumers. If not, it’s unethical and it’s a misdemeanor under our guidelines,” she told California Business Journal, adding that CSLB will “investigate the company and take the appropriate action.”

In perhaps Attic Projects’ most egregious example of deceptive advertising, it falsely touts itself as a “Black-Owned Business.” This unconscionable claim is, according to the Federal Trade Commission, a “felony” for which the maximum sentence is one year in jail plus substantial fines of up to $44,000 for each violation. The FTC “prohibits unfair or deceptive advertising in any medium. Advertising must tell the truth and not mislead consumers. A claim can be misleading if it implies something that’s not true.”

Attic Projects falsely advertises itself as a “Black-Owned Business,” which it is not. This false and deceptive claim is, according to the Federal Trade Commission, a “felony” for which the maximum sentence is one year in jail plus substantial fines of up to $44,000 for each violation. — Attic Projects falsely advertises itself as a “Black-Owned Business.” This deceptive claim is, according to the Federal Trade Commission, a “felony” for which the maximum sentence is one year in jail plus substantial fines of up to $44,000 for each violation.

When an Attic Projects executive was asked why co-owner Nave Black is portraying the company in such a fraudulent manner, there was no response. “If the owner is making claims that Attic Projects is a ‘Black-Owned Business’ based on his name, that is a serious concern,” according to a source. “If Mr. Black thinks it is funny to falsely advertise the company as a ‘Black-Owned Business’ because his last name is Black, it’s not funny and it’s totally inappropriate.”

Nave Black also claims Attic Projects has “earn[ed] spots on Home Advisor, Houzz and other ‘trusted’ home-contractor directories.” Yet, when Attic Projects is searched on the Houzz, it does not appear at all, further demonstrating Black’s false and unethical claims. This link shows Attic Projects does not appear when searched: https://www.houzz.com/professionals/query/attic-projects-inc./nqrwns.

Scrolling through the first three pages of Houzz’s website, Attic Projects is not listed at all. Same with Home Advisor. When Attic Projects was asked why it and co-owner Nave Black are utilizing false and immoral methods of advertising, against FTC rules and regulations, the company refused to respond.

Co-owner Nave Black claims his company, Attic Projects, has “earn[ed] spots on Home Advisor, Houzz and other trusted home-contractor directories.” Yet, when Attic Projects is searched on Houzz, its name does not appear all, — Co-owner Nave Black claims his company, Attic Projects, has “earn[ed] spots on Home Advisor, Houzz and other trusted home-contractor directories.” Yet, when Attic Projects is searched on Houzz, its name does not appear all.

Attic Projects is NOT listed on Houzz’s website, as it claims in its advertising literature, which is a Federal misdemeanor. As the screen shot demonstrates, when you search for Attic Projects in the search bar, its profile does not appear. When other companies are searched, their Houzz profiles appear instantly at the top of the list.

When "Four Brothers Design + Build" is searched in the search bar, it instantly appears at the top of the page, clearly demonstrating that Attic Projects is attempting to "dupe" the public by claiming it is it has “[earned] spots on Home Advisor, Houzz and other trusted home-contractor directories.” — When an Attic Projects competitor, “Four Brothers Design + Build,” is searched on Houzz, it instantly appears at the top of the page, clearly demonstrating that Attic Projects is attempting to “dupe” the public.

Here are additional screen shots showing Attic Projects isn’t even listed among the 70 San Diego companies nor the 30 Orange County companies, proving its claim of being “California’s #1 Crawl Space And Attic Service Provider” is immoral and unethical. The three companies featured in the screen shot below are all 5.0 rated companies. Attic Projects is not recognized in any online search as a top-rated company.

Nave Black’s list of unethical business practices at Attic Projects goes on and on: in the following screen shot, Black claims “most” of Attic Projects’ competitors “only hire temporary workers who are not included in their insurance plans.” When Attic Projects was asked if it and Black possess evidence that “most” of Attic Projects’ competitors “only hire temporary workers who are not included in their insurance plans,” the company refused to respond. Some of Black’s competitors who were contacted are filing complaints against Attic Projects for “deceptively trying to steal business” and “misleading the public,” according to a competitor who did not want to be identified for fear of “retaliation.”

Attic Projects claims “most” of its competitors “only hire temporary workers who are not included in their insurance plans.” Some competitors are filing complaints against Attic Projects for “deceptively trying to steal business” and “misleading the public,” according to a competitor who did not want to be identified for fear of “retaliation.” — Attic Projects claims “most” of its competitors “only hire temporary workers who are not included in their insurance plans.” Some competitors are filing complaints against Attic Projects for “deceptively trying to steal business” and “misleading the public.”

Attic Projects and Nave Black are also using unethical, fraudulent and illegal business methods regarding testimonials by using only the initials of “so-called” clients vs. their full names. When Attic Projects was asked if Black’s decision to use only the initials of customers is to deceive the public and “steal” business from competitors,” the company again refused to respond.

In the following three screen shots, Attic Projects uses unethical and fraudulent business methods regarding its testimonials by using the initials only of individuals’ name, rather than full name as required by law, in its attempt to deceive the public in order to “steal” business from competitors" and “create false positive reviews to dupe the public into doing business with Attic Projects.” — In the following three screen shots, Attic Projects uses unethical business methods regarding its testimonials by using the initials only of individuals’ name, rather than full name as required by law, in an attempt to deceive the public in order to “steal” business from competitors and create “false positive reviews” to dupe the public into doing business with it.”

According to the Rosen Institute, customers reviewing companies who use initials only in testimonials “believe that the company made up the testimonial” and that it’s “fake” and that the use of this deceptive method demonstrates the business has “no credibility?”

Attic Projects’ ratings on several online searches reveal how dismal its rating truly are:

Glassdoor's Rating of Attic Projects is a dismal 3.4 , further illustrating co-owner Nave Black's claim of his company being “California's #1 Crawl Space And Attic Service Provider." — Glassdoor’s Rating of Attic Projects is a dismal 3.4 , further illustrating co-owner Nave Black’s false claim of his company being “California’s #1 Crawl Space And Attic Service Provider.”

Whether we’re talking local companies like Attic Projects or global conglomerates like Wells Fargo, the question is “why do unscrupulous companies such as the aforementioned take such a risk in trying to ‘trick’ the public into buying their products.” In one of the most famous examples of egregious behavior, Wells Fargo opened millions of accounts without customer consent and was fined millions for its criminal actions. CEO John Stumpf was hit with a $17.5 million fine and a lifetime ban from the banking industry in a horrific display of unethical business practices. And when it comes to local businesses, based on the evidence in this article, it’d be difficult to find a more unscrupulous company as Attic Projects.

Watch for the next article in California Business Journal’s continuing series of exposing unethical businesses.

Disclaimer: The impetus for this article evolved after multiple members of California Business Journal’s editorial team endured dreadful experiences with several companies in the story — Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Attic Projects. When CBJ looked deeper into Attic Projects’ and co-owner Nave Black’s business practices, CBJ’s editorial staff uncovered Black’s fraudulent claims. As a news media organization, it is California Business Journal’s obligation to expose the unethical business practices of a company like Attic Projects.