The owner of a private security company hired to patrol Oldtown Salinas and help clean up the homeless problem is now facing prison time for tax evasion and insurance fraud.

The report on KBSW.com says that Monterey County prosecutors charged Anthony Vincent with four felony and two misdemeanor counts of not providing workers comp insurance to employees, and failing to pay employee taxes. Vincent is the owner of ESA International, a Salinas-based private security company. They were hired by the Salinas Oldtown Association 18 months ago to patrol downtown.

The director of the association, Amit Pandya, was surprised by the allegations against Vincent. Pandya said Vincent’s company has been a good partner and helped crack down on crime. The company is paid $200 a month to patrol the area, but the director says the partnership will be reconsidered when the association has it’s next regular meeting Thursday. One possibility is to terminate the contract with ESA International. The current contract is set to expire at the end of June.

Vincent’s attorney says his client was advised by his accountant to hire his security guards as independent contractors to avoid paying worker’s comp. But that’s against the law.

Vincent will be arraigned April 30. A conviction on all counts could mean 12 years in prison.