West Hills man faces 4 felony charges
Sacramento, CA–December 20, 2010–California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner today announced that Abraham Dvir, 66, of West Hills has been arrested on four felony counts of Premium Fraud, in violation of section 11880 (a) of the Insurance Code. Dvir was booked at the Agoura Hills Sheriff’s Station in Los Angeles County, his bail set at $120,000. If convicted, Dvir would be facing a maximum of 15 years in prison and up to $236,000 in fines.
“Cheating the system creates an unfair advantage and puts employees at severe risk – it simply cannot be tolerated,” said Commissioner Poizner. “Small businesses deserve a level playing field, and my department will continue working with its local partners to see that fair play is maintained.”
According to CDI Investigators, in February 2010, the Department of Insurance, Fraud Division received a suspected fraud referral from the State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF) reporting Dvir, the owner of United Painting & Waterproofing Company (United Painting), underreported his payroll to SCIF. According to the referral, SCIF discovered that Dvir had falsified payroll reports for the years 2006-09. United Painting misrepresented the amount of its payroll to reduce the cost of its insurance premiums. The loss of workers’ compensation premiums to SCIF is estimated to be approximately $112,000 over the four year period.
Based on evidence obtained from the investigation, a warrant was issued for Dvir’s arrest on December 16, 2010 and he subsequently surrendered to the Los Angeles County Sheriff. This case was investigated by the Los Angeles Fraud Division of CDI and is being prosecuted by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Dvir’s arraignment date is pending.
Please visit the Department of Insurance Web site at www.insurance.ca.gov. Non media inquiries should be directed to the Consumer Hotline at 800.927.HELP. Callers from out of state, please dial 213.897.8921. Telecommunications Devices for the Deaf (TDD), please dial 800.482.4833.
Source: California Dept. of Insurance