A construction company owner was arrested in Florida this month for workers’ compensation premium fraud and grand theft for allegedly concealing payroll information to avoid paying more than $88,000 in workers’ compensation premiums, according to a statement from the Florida Department of Financial Services.
Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis said Yoni O. Martinez, president and owner of LAMX Construction Company Corp. was arrested May 3, 2021, after an investigation by the department’s Division of Investigative & Forensic Services (DIFS), Bureau of Workers Compensation Fraud.
The investigation revealed that the president that Martinez actively concealed payroll to avoid paying a higher workers’ compensation premium. Martinez claimed $119,150 in annual payroll to Southeast Personnel Leasing for the policy periods of July 2014 to January 2017. Due to the estimated annual payroll provided, the estimated premium calculated for the policy period was $19,433.
During the investigation, detectives discovered that the company cashed more than $635,636 in labor instead of the $119,150 Martinez had originally reported when obtaining the policy with Southeast Personnel Leasing. DFS said had the payroll been properly reported, LAMX Construction Company Corporation would have been charged a total of $107,549 in workers’ compensation premium. This resulted in a net loss of $88,116 in workers’ compensation premiums based on the owners’ alleged fraudulent actions, the department said.
Yoni O. Martinez was arrested on May 3, 2021 and booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami-Dade County. Martinez faces charges of workers’ compensation premium fraud and grand theft. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison. Individuals charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
“I hope this arrest serves as a warning to other criminals that if they commit fraud they will be held accountable,” Patronis said. “I thank the hard work of my fraud detectives for bringing alleged criminals to justice.”
Source: Florida Department of Financial Services
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