Ventura, CA – District Attorney Gregory D. Totten recently announced that Robert Zermeno Delara of Fillmore was arrested and charged with insurance fraud for allegedly denying his injured employees health and disability benefits to which they were entitled and failing to notify his insurance carriers of industrial injuries sustained by his employees.
Delara is the owneroperator of two farm-labor contracting businesses located in Ventura County, Pacific Coast Farm Labor and B&R Farm Labor.
Through these businesses, Delara provides farm-labor and harvesting services to local agricultural producers who rely upon him to provide a skilled workforce while adhering to the safety and workplace injury reporting requirements of California law.
Delara is charged with three felony counts of violating Insurance Code section 1871.4 for making false or fraudulent statements to discourage injured employees from seeking medical care. He is charged with four additional felony counts of violating Penal Code section 550(b)(3) for concealing or failing to disclose information that would impact his injured employees’ entitlement to benefits.
It is alleged that Delara’s failure to report workplace injuries resulted in premium losses to his workers’ compensation carriers of approximately $555,326, as well as additional costs related to the denial of benefits.
Delara faces a maximum possible sentence of 11 years.
Source: Ventura County DA’s Office