Tree Service Owner Charged with Insurance Fraud, Denial of Workers’ Comp Benefits

The company’s office manager is also accused of multiple felonies for her role in the scheme.

‘Cases like this one are particularly egregious, employees were not only put at great risk, but they were denied their hard-earned wages,’ Ricardo Lara, California insurance commissioner, said in a release.

The owner of B&J Tree Service in California is facing 96 felony counts ranging from wage theft and denial of workers’ comp benefits to insurance fraud and perjury, according to the California Department of Insurance (CDI), which reported the business was underreporting payroll and withholding wages.