Wienerschnitzel Owner Charged With Workers' Comp Fraud

Monterey, CA (CompNewsNetwork) - Monterey County District Attorney Dean D. Flippo announced that charges have been filed against Mike Bitar, dba Wienerschnitzel, Store #193, located in Salinas. The charges were filed after a joint investigation was conducted by the Workers' Compensation investigators from the District Attorney's Office and investigators from the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), Employment Development Department (EDD), and the California Department of Insurance (CDI), Morgan Hill office.

The investigation and resulting charges stemmed from discovery that Mr. Bitar did not have workers' compensation insurance for his employees. Mr. Bitar faces twenty-four felony charges and two misdemeanor charges. The charges include Unemployment Code violations that he failed to pay unemployment insurance taxes, failed to file tax returns, failed to pay over required taxes; Penal Code violations of grand theft and Labor Code violations of not posting nor securing workers' compensation insurance for his employees. Mr. Bitar is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday, April 17, 2009, at 1:30 p.m.

California State law requires that all employers secure workers' compensation insurance for their employees. The Workers' Compensation unit of the District Attorney's Office investigates and prosecutes cases involving applicant fraud, employer fraud, premium fraud, medical provider fraud and employers who do not carry workers' compensation insurance.