Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

My parents own a house in California that they rent out. A few months ago, the new tenants discovered some mold, and several different specialty contractors were hired to do work on the house. My parents trusted their property manager to hire all of the necessary people to fix the problem, figuring that he knew more about dealing with contractors than they do.

Throughout the job, one particular contractor claimed that he was licensed and owned his own company. My parents' doubts about his credentials grew; and they leaned on their PM to double check. It turns out the PM is very lazy and never followed up on my parents concerns; he is out of the picture now.

The job is finally done and this contractor ultimately charged my parents $1,500 at the rate of a licensed professional. My parents were hesitant to pay but last week the contractor threatened to take them to court. My parents, fearing legal repercussions and with no definite proof that he wasn't licensed, paid the full amount. Then almost immediately after, they discovered that the contractor has not been licensed for several years and no longer owns his company, though all of the bills he sent my parents were still on his company stationary. The phone number he provided is also no longer in service.

My parents want to take legal action against the contractor. What can they accuse the contractor of in this case? Fraud?

And who should they hire? My parents are broke from all the contractors they've had to hire in the last few months, and are skeptical of lawyers based on some bad experiences in the past. Is there an affordable solution here that can result in some justice for my parents?

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