The owners of Evolution Drywall Inc. in Palm Coast, Florida, were charged with insurance fraud and organized fraud in 2018 but were cleared a year later, reported Ray Boone of Palm Coast Observer. A judge ruled that no restitution needed to be made.

The company’s owners had been accused of not reporting their true payroll exposure after purchasing minimal worker’s compensation insurance. The contractor’s paperwork indicated that it only had four employees and did not have subcontractors, but when an insurer audited the company on-site, they found information that conflicted with that.

The insurance company then investigated the contractor and found that there were actually 13 employees and 30 subcontractors. In addition, two of the subcontractors were uninsured, one of which a company employee owned. The investigation also revealed that the employee was part of the payroll as an employee and a subcontractor.

One of the company’s owners was also listed on the payroll as a subcontractor.

The contractor’s financial reports showed that it had $57,115 in annual income, which was far less than the $2,956,784 that the investigation revealed.

Because the fraud involved more than $50,000, it was considered a first-degree felony.