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Showing posts with label Corporate Fraud. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Corporate Fraud. Show all posts

Monday, April 21, 2014

President of Roofing Company Pleads Guilty to Felony for Scheme to Avoid Paying Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars in Insurance Premiums

Acting NJ Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that the president of a roofing company pleaded guilty today to providing false and misleading information to the company’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier in order to avoid paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in insurance premiums that he was obligated to pay.

Charles Kelcy Pegler Sr., 56, of Spring Lake, pleaded guilty to third-degree insurance fraud before Superior Court Judge Anthony J. Mellaci in Monmouth County. Pegler was charged in a Dec. 19, 2013 state grand jury indictment.

Judge Mellaci scheduled sentencing for June 6. Under the plea agreement, the state will recommend that Pegler be sentenced to 180 days in county jail as a condition of five years of probation. Pegler previously paid full restitution to New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company. The plea agreement also requires Pegler to pay $134,087 to Atain Insurance Company.

“Employers have an obligation to provide full and adequate workers compensation insurance coverage for their employees,” Acting Attorney General Hoffman said. “Because of criminals such as this defendant, honest, hard-working New Jerseyans are forced to pay increased premiums to cover the costs of the fraud.”

“This conviction demonstrates that the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor stands ready and able to prosecute sophisticated schemes and influential executives, even those at the highest reaches of companies,” Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Ronald Chillemi said.

Pegler was the president of Roof Diagnostics, Inc. (“RDI”), which was located at 2333 Highway 34 in Wall. During the time of the alleged crime, RDI was located at 608 Brighton Avenue in Spring Lake Heights. RDI employs approximately 400 people. In pleading guilty, Pegler admitted that between June 11, 2003 and Oct. 5, 2009, he created the false impression to New Jersey Casualty Insurance Company, which is a subsidiary of New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company, that RDI was not a roofing company, that it did not employ roofers and that it did not install, maintain and/or repair roofs. An investigation by the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor determined that, as a result of the alleged crime, RDI paid $265,044 less in workers’ compensation insurance premiums than it should have.

Pegler further admitted that between Jan. 15 and Dec. 9, 2009, he created the false impression to USF Insurance Company, now called Atain Insurance Company, that all roofing and re-roofing services offered by RDI were performed by subcontractors. Through this fraud, Pegler avoided paying $134,087 in general liability insurance premiums which he owed to the insurance company.

Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Chillemi, Deputy Attorneys General Michael Locke, Bradford Muller and Thomas Tresansky and Detective Natalie Brotherston coordinated the investigation. Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Chillemi represented the state at the guilty plea hearing. Additional investigative assistance was provided by Detective Taryn Kong and Detective Trainee Ryan Kirsh, Analysts Terry Worthington and Terri Drumm and Technical Assistant Ramona Navarro. Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Chillemi thanked the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company and Atain Insurance Company for their assistance in the investigation.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Combating Corporate Fraud: Issue Every Employee a Workers Compensation Insurance Card

A NY Grand Jury Report Recommends: Issue Every Employee a Workers Compensation Insurance Card to Combat Employer Fraud

Read the complete report: http://tinyurl.com/kduwfew

Realtwd Stories: Read more about "corporate fraud" and workers' compensation:
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Corporate fraud is a majr problem in the workers' compensation system.Today's guest post authored by David Depaola is shared from http://daviddepaolo.blogspot.com and highlights a very serious problem with the nation'a ...
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"Fraudulent practices by publicly held corporations have contributed to the economic difficulties currently facing our nation," said OSHA Assistant Secretary Dr. David Michaels. "The best way to prevent this from happening in ...
Jul 12, 2012
Corporate Workers Compensation Fraud: California Targets Underground Economy. Sweep targets contractors operating in California's underground economy. Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones today announced that a ...
Jul 11, 2012
OSHA: Corporate Fraud Contributed To Nation's Economic Problems. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration will publish interim final rules in the Nov. 3 Federal Register that revise the .

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Jon L. Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson). For over 4 decades the Law Offices of Jon L Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com  have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Former CEO for Missouri Employers Mutual and Attorney Sentenced for Misappropriation of Funds

Seal of Missouri.
Seal of Missouri. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Roger B. Wilson was sentenced to two years probation, a $5,000 fine, $5,000 restitution and 100 hours of community service.  Edward Griesedieck III was sentenced to one year of probation, a $5,000 fine, $5,000 restitution and 100 hours of community service.  Both were sentenced involving their misappropriation of funds from an insurer.

Wilson was CEO of Missouri Employers Mutual (MEM),  a provider of workers compensation insurance.  Douglas Morgan, now deceased, was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of MEM.  Edward Griesedieck III was a partner with the St. Louis law firm of Herzog Crebs and provided legal services to MEM.  In July 2009, Griesedieck made a $5,000 contribution to the Missouri Democratic Party at the direction of Douglas Morgan and then billed the contribution to MEM on his legal bill as "cost advanced."  The MEM Board of Directors was unaware of the political contribution or the falsity of the legal bill.  Without permission from the Board, Wilson, at the direction of Morgan, approved the payment of Griesedieck’s legal bill, including the reimbursement of $5,000 for the political contribution.  As a result, the public campaign disclosure records for the State of Missouri falsely reflected the contributions from Griesedieck’s law firm.  

In December of 2009, Morgan again directed Griesedieck to make a contribution to the Missouri Democratic Party, this time for $3,000, but with the promise that he, Morgan, would personally reimburse Griesedieck for the contribution.  Later, when Morgan ran into financial problems, he then directed Griesedieck to bill MEM for the contribution.  However, when in-house counsel for MEM discovered in a routine review that the "cost advanced" related to a contribution to the Missouri Democratic Party, Wilson then reimbursed Griesedieck from his personal funds. 

Rodger Wilson, Columbia, MO; and Edward Griesedieck III, Town & Country, MO, both entered guilty pleas in April to one misdemeanor count of misappropriation of funds from an insurer. They appeared today for sentencing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Ann Medler. 

As part of his plea, Griesedieck agreed to surrender his law license for 18 months.  Further, both Wilson and Griesedieck entered into consent orders with the Missouri Ethics Commission and paid fines of $2,000.  Both have also made restitution to MEM for the funds used to reimburse Herzog Crebs for the political contributions.
           
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Hal Goldsmith handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.  Missouri Employers Mutual fully cooperated and provided assistance in the investigation.

More on Corporate Fraud

Nov 03, 2011
OSHA: Corporate Fraud Contributed To Nation's Economic Problems. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration will publish interim final rules in the Nov. 3 Federal Register that revise the ...
Nov 01, 2011
Report counters efforts from U.S. Chamber and its corporate allies to deny recourse to workers and consumers dying from asbestos exposure. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report – requested ... The report refutes claims made by the U.S. Chamber and asbestos manufacturers, finding that the trusts are transparent and have measures in place to prevent fraud. The following is a statement from American Association for Justice President ...
Jan 11, 2012
OSHA: Corporate Fraud Contributed To Nation's Economic Problems (workers-compensation.blogspot.com); Baby Boomers Have Work Comp Claims Too (workers-compensation.blogspot.com); Misrepresentation on ...
Apr 20, 2011
The book, Confessions of a Union Buster, gives us insight into the active national agenda of Corporate American to redesign the nation's workers' compensation system through a conspiracy employing the use of smoke and mirrors. Martin Jay Levitt, who performed despicable acts as an employer-sponsored union ... Levitt knew that these tests were a sham and a fraud from the beginning. “The employer attitude survey is a shameful example of science twisted into ...