Boston, MA – Attorney General Maura Healey recently announced that the owners of a Fall River-based contracting company have been indicted on charges of workers’ compensation fraud in connection with failing to disclose the true nature of the work that their company performs.
Paul and Cynthia Caron, 58 and 60, respectively, of Fall River, were indicted Monday by a statewide Grand Jury on charges of Workers’ Compensation Fraud (5 counts each). Cynthia Caron was also charged with Larceny (5 counts). The arraignment is scheduled for a later date in Bristol Superior Court.
“We allege these defendants intentionally misrepresented the work performed by their company in order to avoid paying higher workers’ compensation costs,” said AG Healey. “Our office is committed to investigating and prosecuting those who engage in this type of fraud for their own benefit.”
This investigation was referred to the Attorney General’s Office by the state’s Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB).
An investigation revealed that the Carons failed to disclose the true nature of the work that their company performed between 2009 and 2014 in order to lower their workers’ compensation insurance premiums. The Carons allegedly defrauded two insurance companies under five separate insurance policies by describing their employees as carpenters during annual insurance audits, when in fact Caron Contracting was almost exclusively a roofing company.
Authorities allege that through their intentional misclassification of their workers, the Carons avoided paying more than $71,000 in workers’ compensation insurance premiums.
“This case symbolizes the continued team effort between the Attorney General’s Office and the IFB to combat workers’ compensation fraud,” said Anthony M. DiPaolo, Chief of Investigations at the Insurance Fraud Bureau. “This type of fraud creates an unfair advantage for business owners who artificially lower their premiums to gain an edge over their competitors.”
These charges are allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
AG Healey’s Insurance and Unemployment Fraud Unit works to protect consumers and the integrity of the insurance system by investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against all types of insurers, including the Commonwealth’s unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation systems.
This case was handled by Assistant Attorney General Geoffrey Wood of AG Healey’s Insurance and Unemployment Fraud Unit with assistance from Senior Investigator Philip Mantyla, also of AG Healey’s Insurance and Unemployment Fraud Unit, and investigators from the IFB.
Source: MA AG’s Office