The San Bernardino District Attorney’s office reported last week that the proprietor of a San Bernardino-area janitorial business found guilty of fraud last year was ordered to pay over $2.4 million in restitution this March while serving two years of felony probation.
45 year old Almirante Perez of Highland was ordered to pay $2,407,573.14 in restitution for committing workers’ compensation and tax fraud. Perez was the owner of Capital Janitorial Services, Cal Best Service Group Inc., Southern Pacific Janitorial Group and United Pacific Contractors Inc., from March 2013 to November 2018
Over multiple years, Mr. Perez committed workers’ compensation and tax fraud by failing to fully insure his employees for workers’ compensation and underreporting his employee payroll. He was arraigned on multiple felony counts of insurance fraud and tax evasion. .
An investigation by the Department of Insurance revealed Perez failed to report employees and wages to his workers’ compensation insurance carrier and to the Employment Development Department (EDD). The investigation discovered $1,982,597 in underreported premium fraud and $609,430 in payroll taxes owed to the EDD.
It is further alleged, as to some of the counts, that the offenses alleged are related felonies, a material element of which is fraud and embezzlement, which involved a pattern of related felony conduct, and the pattern of related felony conduct involved the taking of, and resulted in the loss by Republic Underwriters Insurance Company, NorGuard Insurance Company, dba Atlas General Insurance Company, and Ohio Security Insurance Company of more than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000).
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He pleaded no contest to one count of felony workers’ compensation fraud with a criminal enhancements for aggravated white collar crime. He admitted he had failed to pay for workers’ compensation insurance and was underreporting payroll for multiple years, district attorney’s officials said. He was placed on felony probation for the maximum period of two years last May.
The $2,407,573.14 in restitution will be paid to multiple victims, including the Employment Development Department, Republic Underwriters, Berkshire Hathaway and Liberty Mutual.