New York Corporation Guilty In $211G Workers’ Compensation Fraud

New York, NY  (CompNewsNetwork) - New York State Insurance Fund CEO David P. Wehner today announced the conviction of the corporate officer of a Long Island concrete and brick company ordered to pay more than $211,000 in restitution to NYSIF for concealing the number of workers employed by the company in a case of workers' compensation premium fraud.

“NYSIF is vigilant about detecting premium fraud,” CEO Wehner said. “This type of fraud is ripe for all kinds of abuses, hurting not only other business and the workers' compensation system as a whole, but potentially leaving workers unprotected.”

Augusto Fernandes and his daughter, Sonia Rodriguez, corporate officers for F&G Concrete and the F&G Concrete Corp, in Holstville, NY, were indicted by a Suffolk County Grand Jury last February following their arrests on felony fraud charges stemming from the case.

Augusto Fernandes pleaded guilty to attempted fraudulent practices as a misdemeanor in Suffolk County Court on July 2, receiving a one-year conditional discharge. F&G Corporation received a three-year conditional discharge for insurance fraud in the second degree, a felony, and was ordered to pay $211,057 in restitution for premium owed to NYSIF. The restitution was received by Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota's Office and forwarded to NYSIF.

The charges against Sonia Rodriguez were dismissed.

Based on information from employees and payroll records seized by the Suffolk County DA's Insurance Crime Bureau, authorities said F&G reported substantially lower payroll amounts on their NYSIF policy audits by concealing the actual number of workers the company employed. As a result of these audits, F&G was billed for a lower premium amount by NYSIF for workers' compensation insurance from 2004 to 2006.

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