A plumbing contractor has been ordered to pay $1 million in restitution to the State Compensation Insurance Fund as part of a workers’ comp fraud prosecution.
Daniela G. Birdwell, 41, owner of GPS Plumbing, pleaded guilty to one count of workers’ comp insurance premium fraud. A judge also imposed a sentence of two years of formal felony probation, 320 hours of community service and ordered Birdwell to pay $10,000 per month towards restitution.
The State Fund provided workers’ comp coverage to GPS Plumbing from June 2016 through May 2021. The fraud was first discovered when a State Fund special investigation unit noticed a difference between wages the company reported to the Employment Development Department and wages reported to the State Fund during policy audits.
State Fund then conducted an audit of GPS Plumbing’s workers’ comp records, which investigators say uncovered millions of dollars in unreported payroll. The State Fund’s Special Investigation Unit submitted a report of its suspected fraud case to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office and the California Department of Insurance for investigation.
Deputy District Attorney David Bagheri prosecuted the case.
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