A federal district court judge laid down a 96-month prison sentence on BaronHR and Checkmate Staffing owner Luis E. Perez for running a multi-year scheme that avoided paying an estimated $60 million in payroll taxes. The sentence includes 59 months in prison for the tax evasion charge and 36 months for aiding and assisting in …
The California State Bar Court issued an order of public reproval for attorney Matthew Rifat after a trial. Still, it rejected the bar association’s effort to have his license revoked for operating a bookkeeping company at the center of a major workers’ compensation fraud ring. Rifat had been indicted along with others running the alleged …
The convicted head of a workers’ comp bribery scheme that generated hundreds of millions of dollars in fraudulent MRI services claims is asking the United States Supreme Court to take up the case and reverse his conviction. The petition for certiorari argues that Sam Solakyan was convicted under a fraud theory that several other federal …
District Attorneys in Los Angeles and San Diego notched victories against two employers for underreporting payroll to avoid workers’ comp premiums. The San Diego DA won a $1 million restitution order against a plumbing company, while the Los Angeles DA’s office secured a nearly $2.3 million order against a couple operating three delivery services. John …
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal members voted to reject a petition for rehearing and rehearing en banc by the convicted head of a workers’ comp bribery scheme that generated $263 million in fraudulent claims for MRI services. Sam Solakyan filed the petition after the Ninth Circuit affirmed all counts of his conviction last fall. …
The Division of Workers’ Compensation agreed to drop nearly $200,000 in administrative penalties against Keenan and Associates, a Third-Party Administrator that failed a DIR claims audit. For its part, Keenan agreed to fix the problems identified in the audit and drop its appeal. The settlement leaves the failing grade intact. The deal was revealed as …
The California Department of Insurance Fraud Assessment Commission (FAC) approved another one-year adjustment to the anti-fraud funding formula. This one will redirect approximately $4 million away from county district attorneys and give it to the Department. Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara requested the change after DAs again failed to use the entirety of the grants provided …
The number of suspected workers’ comp fraud cases (SFCs) referred to California Department of Insurance investigators is returning to normal. Referrals plummeted during the pandemic. The Department’s Fraud Division received nearly 3,000 referrals last year involving cases with more than $149 million in potential losses. California Insurance Code section 1872.4 requires carriers to report suspected …