A Corcoran labor contractor who cheated a workers’ compensation insurer out of millions of dollars in premiums has been sentenced to nine months in jail,
Michael Harold Kreger, 63, of Visalia, owner of Michael Kreger Contracting, was sentenced in California Superior Court in Kings County after his conviction on three felony counts of insurance fraud with a white collar crime enhancement charge for cheating his workers’ compensation insurer out of more than $5.4 million in premiums.
After receiving a referral from Kreger’s workers’ compensation insurer, detectives from the California Department of Insurance launched an investigation into Kreger’s business practices.
The investigation included an audit of Kreger’s payroll records provided to his insurer and what he provided to the Employment Development Department, which revealed that for over four years Kreger intentionally underreported his payroll in order to mislead his workers’ compensation insurer and obtain artificially low workers’ compensation insurance premiums.
Kreger pleaded no contest to three felony counts of insurance fraud with a white collar crime enhancement.
He was released on house arrest and electronic monitoring after two days in jail, according to jail records.
“This case is a clear example of Kings County’s prosecution team standing up for every business owner and employee who is affected by fraudulent business practices that manipulate the system and seek financial gain at the expense of injured employees and upstanding business owner. I am proud of the contribution and work done by all the investigation teams, especially Deputy District Attorney Michael Casaus, Senior Investigator Nicole Lucero, and Legal Secretary Lynn Rikard on behalf of our office.” said Kings County District Attorney Keith Fagundes.
The Kings County District Attorney successfully prosecuted this case, leading to Kreger’s conviction and sentencing of 270 days (9 months) in jail, five years probation, 1500 hours of community service, and ordered restitution exceeding $5.4 million.