Posted By
CotoBlogzz
Rancho Santa
Margarita, CA - Five defendants were arraigned yesterday April 12, 2016, for
committing over $635,000 in tax and insurance fraud and failing to pay
employees prevailing wage on public works contracts, according to the Orange
County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA)
Babak Brian
Abghari, 36, Newport Coast, Homayoun Harry Abghari, 57, Huntington Beach, Julio
Roberto Alvarado, 47, San Pedro, Cody Lawson, 34, Long Beach, Phyllis Martinez,
51, Anaheim, are each charged with eight felony counts of taking and receiving
a portion of a worker's wage on a public work, 56 felony counts of recording a
false or forged instrument, six felony counts of making a false statement to
discourage an injured worker from claiming benefits, and seven felony counts of
willful failure to pay taxes, with sentencing enhancement allegations for property
loss over $200,000.
Babak Aghari and
Homayoun Aghari are also charged with three felony counts of misrepresenting
facts to a workers' compensation insurance company.
Houmayoun Abghari
and Babak Abghari are accused of owning and operating PCN3, a general
contracting company that mainly conducts public works projects.
Between Jan. 1,
2000, and March 30, 2015, the defendants are accused of fraudulently paying
PCN3's employees less than the prevailing wage in cash, and keeping the extra
money owed to their employees. The defendants are accused of
"shorting" the victims' hours on certified payroll reports and/or
requiring their victims' to give cash back.
Martinez is
accused of working as an office clerk at PCN3 and knowingly signing fraudulent
certified payroll records under penalty of perjury.
Lawson is accused
of working as a superintendent and Alvarado is accused of working as a foreman
for PCN3 on public work's projects. Lawson and Alvarado are accused of not
paying employment taxes. Lawson and Alvarado are accused of giving paychecks or
cash to victims for their work on the projects.
On several
occasions the defendants are accused of telling the victims to get a fictitious
business license and paying them less than the prevailing wage for
sub-contracting work they performed.
Houmayoun Abghari
and Babak Abghari are accused of discouraging the victims from filing for
workers' compensation benefits after being injured on the work. Houmayoun
Abghari and Babak Abghari are accused of knowingly filing false tax returns in
which they understated the pay and amount of hours that their employees
received.
One of the
victims contacted the International Brotherhood of Iron Workers, who notified
the Orange County District Attorney's Office (OCDA). The OCDA and the
Department of Industrial Relations and Labor Commissioners Office investigated
this case.
Deputy District
Attorney Donde McCament of the Insurance Fraud Unit is prosecuting this case.
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