Florida Man Accused of Failing to Pay $193K in Workers’ Comp Premium

A Florida man has been arrested for workers’ compensation premium fraud and additional charges for allegedly concealing payroll information to avoid paying more than $193,000 in workers’ compensation premiums, according to a statement from the Florida Department of Financial Services.

Julio Enrique Maldonado, owner of G.G.M. Construction LLC, faces charges of workers compensation fraud, under reporting payroll greater than $100,000, workers compensation fraud – false statements on application greater than $100,000, and Florida communication fraud aggregated value of $50,000 or more.

The charges follow an investigation by the DFS Division of Investigative & Forensic Services (DIFS), Bureau of Workers Compensation Fraud that found Maldonado claimed $120,000 in annual payroll to Builders Insurance Co. for the policy periods of February 2018 to November 2019. Due to the estimated annual payroll provided, the estimated premium calculated for the policy period was $15,780.

During the investigation, detectives discovered that Maldonado cashed several checks from January 2019 through December 2020, which totaled over $5.5 million. Maldonado did not respond to the request from Builders Insurance Company to conduct an audit. Based on Maldonado grossly underestimating/reporting his business payroll, Builders Insurance Company, was deprived of $193,284 in premiums, DFS said.

Maldonado was arrested on April 30, 2021 and booked into the Orange County Jail. If convicted, he faces up to 30 years in prison. Individuals charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

“This type of fraud has a major impact on our state as it raises insurance rates for Florida families. I appreciate the hard work of my fraud detectives for bringing this alleged fraudster to justice,” Patronis said.

News article: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2021/05/13/613880.htm