A 47-year-old Corona man and his daughter each pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges stemming from a $1.7 million workers’ comp scheme that allegedly involved paying employees under the table and concealing workplace injuries.
(Flickr: Phil Roeder)
Antonio Torres Arias and Nayeli Iliana Torres, 22, are both charged with four counts of misrepresentation to obtain workers’ compensation insurance and tax evasion — felonies that altogether carry a maximum sentence of 16 years in prison.
“These types of fraudulent activities inappropriately raise the price of goods for the consumer, as well as increase insurance rates and taxes for all of us,” Riverside County District Attorney Paul Zellerbach said.
The defendants appeared with their attorneys before Superior Court Judge Helios Hernandez, who set a felony settlement conference in the case for April 4.
Arias remains held in lieu of $1.7 million bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning. Torres is free on a $25,000 bond.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, the pair ran companies called Torres Services and Torres Cleaning that contracted with Cardenas Markets, a Southern California supermarket chain that is not accused of any wrongdoing.
Between 2009 and 2012, prosecutors allege the defendants engaged in various schemes to conceal information from the government and insurance companies that would trigger higher workers comp premiums.
Arias and Torres allegedly paid employees in cash, leaving no paper trail, changed the classifications of employees to obscure the type of work they were performing and covered up on-the-job injuries, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The victims were identified as Omaha-based First Comp Insurance, New York-based Chartis Insurance, Hartford, Conn.-based National Fire Insurance and the California Employment Development Department.
D.A.’s office and California Department of Insurance personnel handled the investigation.
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So, what they did was have cash paid employees. They paid for any injuries in cash, instead of processing them through the WC? If that is all they did, why is it a problem? Because the insurance companies didn’t get their sky high premiums? Seriously??? I say screw the insurance company. We have all not reported a broken windshield and just fixed it ourselves, because the deductible was just as high as the cost of the windshield. Why should consumers be forced to take an increase in premiums when they are already too high! Its amazing to me, that this is a crime, yet the insurance companies, are basically extortionists to begin with. We pay them for protection, that we many never need, Just in case something horrible happens. That makes no sense to the US Population!