4 Family Members Charged with $2.1M in WC Fraud

Four family members were charged with multiple counts of workers’ compensation fraud for underreporting payroll for two of their California agriculture businesses. The California Department of Insurance charged the family members after finding their companies underreported payroll to illegally save more than $2.1 million in workers’ compensation insurance premiums.

An investigation into those businesses revealed they were also underreporting payroll to their insurance carrier. The first company reported $552,517 in payroll, and a forensic audit revealed the company had $4,026,125 in payroll. The second company reported $654,091 in payroll, and a forensic audit revealed it had $4,679,409 in payroll.

The underreporting by both companies resulted in a loss of $2,165,308 in premiums by the State Compensation Insurance Fund. All four family members were arraigned on April 25. They are scheduled to return to court on August 1, 2023.