The California Department of Insurance (CDI) Criminal Investigations Branch Fraud Division arrested a Richmond, Calif., man for workers’ compensation premium fraud.
David Barthell Sr., owner of Barthell Construction and Roofing, was arrested at his residence/office last week and booked into Richmond County Jail. If convicted, he could face up to five years in state prison and/or a maximum fine of $50,000.
According to investigators, the State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF) received an anonymous complaint alleging Barthell had lied to homeowners regarding the workers’ compensation coverage for his employees. The complaint also noted that Barthell allegedly told the Contractors’ State License Board he had no employees, while in fact, he employed seven to 10 illegal aliens who were paid in cash.
A subsequent investigation revealed that David and Vickie Barthell, doing business as Barthell Construction and Roofing, allegedly did employ a number of people to perform roofing from 1995 to 2000. The Barthell’s are alleged to have avoided paying the correct workers’ comp premiums and SCIF calculated the Barthell’s should have paid in the area of $230,000 more in premium for the coverage of employees.
Search warrants were obtained for eight locations, which included three residences and five businesses.
Topics Fraud Workers' Compensation
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