Owners of Florida-based contractor surrender to Connecticut law enforcement
www.fox61.com, Dalton Zbierski, August 22, 2024
ROCKY HILL, Conn. — The Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice reports that the owners of Florida-based general contractor ITO Construction, Inc. were recently arrested and charged in Rocky Hill.
Prosecutors said the general contractor’s owners operated a business without a proper workers’ compensation insurance policy and misrepresented their employees as independent contractors.
On Aug. 16, Temur Arifov, of Marietta, Ga; Oleg Arifov of Miami, Fla.; and Ion Curmei, of Hallandale Beach, Fla. reportedly surrendered at the Rocky Hill Police Department. DCJ said they were arrested by Inspectors from the Workers’ Compensation Fraud Control Unit in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney.
A warrant charges all three individuals with one count of noncompliance with insurance requirements and defrauding workers’ compensation insurance carrier.
The arrest warrant affidavit states that through an investigation with the state’s Department of Labor – Wage & Workplace Standards Division, a visit to a worksite in East Hartford revealed that ITO Construction was hired to renovate a hotel building.
The investigation’s results allege that the owners of the general contractor did not comply with the requirement to maintain a proper workers’ compensation insurance policy in Connecticut and misrepresented to the insurance carrier that their employees on the job site were independent contractors.
State law mandates that businesses carry workers’ compensation insurance to cover the full liability or demonstrate their solvency and financial ability to compensate injured employees or their beneficiaries, and pay the proper workers’ compensation assessments, prosecutors say.
Upon being arrested on Aug. 16, each of the owners were released on a $10,000 non-surety bond and are scheduled to appear in Manchester Superior Court on Aug. 28, according to DCJ.
The Workers Compensation Fraud Control Unit in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney in Rocky Hill will prosecute the case.
DCJ reminds the public that charges are merely accusations and that the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.