Caught Paying Employees Cold Cash

Following a joint 13-month investigation by the CDI and the California Employment Development Department (EDD), Raymond Nunez, 54, and Sandra Lawson-Nunez, 56, owners of the Furniture Saving Center, surrendered on four felony counts each of insurance fraud and two felony counts of tax fraud.

After receiving information that the Fair Oaks couple was paying Furniture Saving Center employees cash wages, the EDD launched an investigation. In February 2000, EDD served a search warrant at three of Nunez’s businesses located in Sacramento and North Highlands and at the Nunez’s Fair Oaks residence, and obtained evidence confirming the allegation that Nunez was in fact paying cash wages to employees.

During an interview with CDI investigators in January 2001, both Raymond and Sandra admitted to intentionally omitting cash wages on their monthly payroll reports to the State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF). The Nunez’s admitted to under-reporting their payroll from 1996 to 1999 in the amount of $1,003,637. Due to their false reporting, SCIF incurred a loss of $88,861 in unpaid workers’ comp premiums.