Head of Modesto employment firm convicted of workers' compensation fraud

A 31-year-old Denair woman has been convicted of workers' compensation fraud, under-reporting $2.8 million in payroll and costing the state about $525,000 in insurance premiums.

Aileen Ramirez on Feb. 27 pleaded no contest to one count of fraud to obtain insurance at a reduced rate, the Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office announced in a news release Thursday. Two other counts of insurance fraud were dropped.

Ramirez was sentenced to serve 120 hours of community service and three years of probation. She also was ordered to pay restitution of slightly more than $525,000 to the State Compensation Insurance Fund.

In 2012, Ramirez was the owner and chief executive officer of Quality Employment Services, LLC, in Modesto, according to prosecutors. The employment firm provided temporary workers to cover absences, skills shortages and seasonal workloads for client companies.

Ramirez obtained a workers’ compensation policy for her business from the State Fund from February 2012 through August 2014.

Employers in California are required by law to have workers’ compensation insurance and submit payroll records to the State Fund showing the number of employees and their income. The information helps the State Fund set premium rates for workers’ compensation insurance for employers throughout the state.

Prosecutors said a State Fund audit of Ramirez's policy discovered that she had under-reported her payroll and the total number of employees to receive a lower workers’ compensation insurance premium.

Ramirez in April 2016 was charged with insurance fraud in Stanislaus Superior Court.

The case was the result of a joint investigation by the state Department of Insurance and the Amador County Workers’ Compensation Fraud Unit, which investigates and prosecutes insurance fraud cases in Amador, Stanislaus, Calaveras and Tuolumne counties. The fraud unit is funded by a grant from the state Department of Insurance.

Authorities ask anyone who suspects workers’ compensation fraud to the state Department of Insurance Fraud Hotline at (916) 854-5700 or the Amador County District Attorney’s Office at (209) 223-6444.

This story was originally published March 12, 2018 at 11:23 AM with the headline "Head of Modesto employment firm convicted of workers' compensation fraud."