The first time Melissa Nieto laid eyes on Kung Yuen Chiu and his work van outside of her home on Crescent Avenue, she had no inkling of how much trouble he would end up causing her.
“He just looked like an older guy with money,” she recalled. “He looked like he should be retired.”
Nieto had hired a contractor in the spring of 2024 to replace a retaining wall and install a door on the back of her house, and this man had enlisted Chiu — who goes by K.Y. Chiu or simply Mr. Chiu — to oversee the planning. The work would be a bit complicated, as the rear of Nieto’s home is on one of Bernal Heights’ signature slopes, but Chiu was there to make sure the project ran smoothly.
Over time, though, Nieto sensed that something was off. Costs kept adding up, and Chiu demanded an extra $5,000 payment to complete the plans, she said.
“He said he wouldn’t finish the project, and I thought, ‘Oh, great,’” Nieto said. “Thinking back on it, I should have gotten somebody else right then.”
Chiu eventually finished the plans, got city approval and the project was completed in early August. Nieto figured that Chiu’s fee had been money well spent. Far too many San Franciscans have seen permit snafus drag out projects for months, if not years.
So, Nieto was shocked when city officials in November mailed her a notice of violation, ordering her to submit new plans for the project and begin the permitting process from scratch — all because of her permit expediter.
“Everything was fine; they came and did the final inspection, and then they hit me with him not having a license,” Nieto said. “And now I have to pay for the permit, which is $2,500 more.”
In March, the Department of Building Inspection flagged Chiu’s work and quietly added his name to its Expanded Compliance Control list. The list was created in the wake of corruption scandals that came to light in 2020 and is informally known among city staff as the “bad actors” of San Francisco permit expediters. Chiu was found to have fraudulently used the stamp of Himatlal B. Dagli, an engineer who’d had his license suspended by the California Department of Consumer Affairs in 2010, according to documents The Standard obtained via a public records request.
Leaving no room for doubt of Chiu’s foul intent, city officials noted it was “implausible” he would not have known he was acting in a fraudulent manner, as the stipulation agreement for Dagli’s 2010 suspension also called out Chiu for working without an engineering license.
Consequently, plans for Nieto’s project and two other homes Chiu worked on in the Sunset — 1671 45th Ave. and 1754 27th Ave. — were deemed “invalid and fraudulent” because there was no valid engineer of record.
“I had to pay several thousand dollars to this asshole who wasn’t an engineer to begin with,” Nieto said. “Then I had to get another engineer to do the work, which I’m going through now to get the plans approved a second time.”
While city officials erred in initially approving permits for three of Chiu’s projects last fall, the bad actors list appears to be serving its purpose. In April, officials added another permit consultant, Victor Ngoon, who seemed to be working with Chiu in some capacity. Both were found to be using the same suspended engineer’s stamp to get approval for their permit applications.
“By submitting plans with Mr. Dagli’s stamp affixed, Mr. Ngoon acted with either willful fraud or a failure to exercise the minimum standards of due diligence expected under the circumstances,” city officials wrote.
The report detailing three notices of violation against Chiu over one week in November 2024 raises the question of whether the incidents were just the tip of the iceberg. Nieto’s contractor, Rafael Chahuayo, told The Standard he has heard of more than half a dozen other properties having issues with Chiu. Another source who declined to be named said Chiu’s violations could stem back as far as a decade.
Patrick Hannan, a spokesperson for the Department of Building Inspection, confirmed via email that officials have alerted the district attorney’s office about Chiu’s violations. Hannan added that building inspection officials have not done a deeper dive into his work and do not have the legal authority to ban permit expediters, which is why Chiu’s name is merely a red flag in the system.
“The Expanded Compliance Control process empowers DBI to invest staff time and resources in monitoring people who consistently misrepresent their work, violate the building codes and rip off unsuspecting property owners,” Hannan wrote in an email.
Chiu did not respond to requests for comment. Ngoon declined to comment Thursday, and attempts to reach Dagli were unsuccessful.
There are seven people on the Expanded Compliance Control list, starting with the Rodrigo Santos, who was convicted for multiple crimes, including trying to influence a city building inspector. Whenever someone on the list is named on a project seeking city permits, the Department of Building Inspection alerts agencies across the city and state. The list of departments that could be contacted include the California Contractors State License Board; the state Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists; the California Architects Board; and — if officials suspect illegal acts have been committed — the San Francisco district attorney’s office.
Randy Quezada, a spokesperson for the DA, declined to comment on Chiu’s violations being referred to prosecutors. “As a matter of policy, we do not comment on the existence or non-existence of possible criminal investigations,” Quezada wrote in an email.
An official for the state Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists confirmed to The Standard that it is a misdemeanor for anyone to use an expired, suspended, surrendered, or revoked certificate or license.
Little information could be found online about Chiu, but a bio on “The Marquis Who’s Who Top Professionals” website states that he has dedicated his life to helping the community.
“Mr. Chiu attributes his success to his desire to improve human lives,” the bio states. “As part of the 30th generation of the Sung Dynasty from China, he decided to pursue his career because he was inspired by his heritage.”
Nieto said the costs for her project ballooned from around $35,000 to $50,000, partly because of Chiu’s actions. However, she noted that the plans he submitted were found to be acceptable, aside from the stamp. She is still waiting for the city to approve her plans a second time and hopes prosecutors pursue a case against Chiu.
“I hope they take everything he’s got,” Nieto said. “It’s pretty rotten what he did.”