Owner of Ventura County Cleaning Company Sentenced to 365 Days and Probation for Workers' Compensation Premium Fraud
Audits by State Compensation Insurance Fund and other workers' compensation insurance carriers (Zenith, Travelers, etc.) can turn into criminal cases if there is intentional evidence of underreporting of payroll.
A recent case shows how a state case was handled in Ventura County which is known to be tough on sentencing. The last case we had in Ventura County resulted in a no time sentence and a corporate plea but full restitution was made in that matter.
On June 6, 2018, Victor Vega of Oxnard, the owner
of Vega Cleaning Service, was sentenced to serve 365 days in Ventura County
jail for committing workers’ compensation insurance fraud and 72 months' probation. Mr. Vega had plead guilty in April 2018 to four counts of Insurance Code Section 11760(a) relating to operation of his cleaning business from January 2010 to December 2015 and underreporting the number of employees and the total payroll.
Mr. Vega admitted the loss was $460,197 and had paid $100,000 in restitution at the sentencing hearing which was probably one reason why the sentence was 365 days in county jail (not state prison and which will mean that only 6 months will be served). One large advantage of a 365 day county jail sentence is that with no state prison time, the charge can be reduced to a misdemeanor upon sufficient proof to the Court and can be expunged.
The time to address these cases is early on and to ensure that any independent contractors are properly classified and to make sure that any reporting is accurate. If there are any errors, they should be fixed as soon as possible. If audits show issues, it is important to be proactive.
Posted by Tracy Green, Esq.
Green and Associates, Attorneys at Law
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Audits by State Compensation Insurance Fund and other workers' compensation insurance carriers (Zenith, Travelers, etc.) can turn into criminal cases if there is intentional evidence of underreporting of payroll. 