Can a victim of an unlicensed contractor obtain a full refund of all compensation paid under the California Penal Code section 1202.4 of the Penal Code?

Under the statutory scheme, the civil remedy of refunding "all compensation paid" is intended to deter unlicensed contractors by depriving them of all monetary benefit ( 7031, subd.(b)). The restitution statute, in contrast, serves primarily to compensate victims for actual economic losses. Unlike section 7031, section 1202.4 of the Penal Code does not provide for a full refund of all payments to an unlicensed contractor. A victim who is made whole for economic losses under Penal Code section 1202.4 remains able to pursue the civil law remedy of a full refund. ( People v. Vasquez (2010) 190 Cal.App.4th 1126, 1132, 119 Cal.Rptr.3d 29 ["An order of restitution pursuant to [Penal Code] section 1202.4 does not preclude the crime victim from pursing a separate civil action based on the same facts from which the criminal conviction arose"].) We conclude that the trial court acted within its discretion in ordering restitution for the actual

[222 Cal.Rptr.3d 531]