Two Florida contractors were arrested in June for compensation fraud and are accused of underreporting their payroll so they would not have to pay for insurance premiums and fees, according to Chris Gothner of Local 10 News in Florida.
Arrest reports said that 46-year-old Francisco Picado and 44-year-old Lester Picado ran Superior Drywall, based in Hialeah, Florida. The reports did not make clear how or if the two are related.
The reports stated that the pair had contracted with a third-party company in 2019 to handle payroll and workers’ compensation coverage.
Authorities said the Picados were responsible for reporting accurate payroll figures to that company, but instead fudged the numbers — by a lot.
According to the arrest reports, Superior Drywall reported about $38,000 in payroll, but the real number was nearly 100 times that figure; more than $3.25 million.
Authorities said that if the Picados had reported accurate numbers, they would have been on the hook for a nearly $200,000 workers compensation premium and more than $162,000 in administrative fees.
The arrest reports said that the pair had been cashing millions of dollars’ worth of checks at a local check-cashing store.
Both men face charges of making false or misleading representations to obtain workers’ compensation benefits and first-degree grand theft.
The pair were no longer listed in jail records as of this summer.