[US] Construction company owner’s $8M wire fraud scheme

On July 17 in the US, an Orlando woman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud following an investigation which uncovered a nearly $8 million wire fraud scheme, cw34 reports.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said that Wendy Cudemo-Gamez had registered a construction company she owned with the state. The company claimed to provide construction services and labour to contractors. However, the plea agreement revealed that Ms Cudemo-Gamez also used the company to engage in a scheme to defraud worker's compensation insurance providers.

According to the plea agreement, Ms Cudemo-Gamez intentionally falsified information on insurance applications. The DOJ said she claimed her company had a limited payroll and a small number of employees working on construction sites. 

In addition, Ms Cudemo-Gamez reportedly made false claims through wire communications, leading contractors to believe their workers had full worker's compensation coverage when, in fact, her company received and cashed more than $7.8 million in cheques from construction contractors.

The DOJ said the payroll figures reported by Ms Cudemo-Gamez far exceeded the actual limited payroll meaning the affected workers she had employed did not have proper worker's compensation coverage. The scheme also led to lost revenue for insurance companies since they were not aware of the real number of workers requiring coverage.

According to the DOJ, Ms Cudemo-Gamez's fraudulent actions went beyond insurance. Her company allegedly avoided ensuring that workers were legally authorised to work in the US or that the required state and federal payroll taxes were paid. 

Contractors using these workers' services were also able to evade these responsibilities.

A sentencing date has yet to be set, however, the DOJ reportedly said Ms Cudemo-Gamez faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

Source: cw34

On July 17 in the US, an Orlando woman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud following an investigation which uncovered a nearly $8 million wire fraud scheme, cw34 reports.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said that Wendy Cudemo-Gamez had registered a construction company she owned with the state. The company claimed to provide construction services and labour to contractors. However, the plea agreement revealed that Ms Cudemo-Gamez also used the company to engage in a scheme to defraud worker's compensation insurance providers.

According to the plea agreement, Ms Cudemo-Gamez intentionally falsified information on insurance applications. The DOJ said she claimed her company had a limited payroll and a small number of employees working on construction sites. 

In addition, Ms Cudemo-Gamez reportedly made false claims through wire communications, leading contractors to believe their workers had full worker's compensation coverage when, in fact, her company received and cashed more than $7.8 million in cheques from construction contractors.

The DOJ said the payroll figures reported by Ms Cudemo-Gamez far exceeded the actual limited payroll meaning the affected workers she had employed did not have proper worker's compensation coverage. The scheme also led to lost revenue for insurance companies since they were not aware of the real number of workers requiring coverage.

According to the DOJ, Ms Cudemo-Gamez's fraudulent actions went beyond insurance. Her company allegedly avoided ensuring that workers were legally authorised to work in the US or that the required state and federal payroll taxes were paid. 

Contractors using these workers' services were also able to evade these responsibilities.

A sentencing date has yet to be set, however, the DOJ reportedly said Ms Cudemo-Gamez faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

Source: cw34