The owner of a Lowell, Massachusetts staffing company has pleaded guilty to charges he underreported the size and scope of his business operations in order to avoid paying approximately $110,000 in workers compensation premiums, Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Office announced.
Dara Duong, 53, of Lowell, pleaded guilty to charges of Workers Compensation Fraud (3 counts), and Larceny over $250 (2 counts). After the plea was entered, Superior Court Judge Kathe Tuttman sentenced Duong to two-and-a-half years in the House of Correction, suspended for three years and three years of probation. Duong was further ordered to pay full restitution and perform 400 hours of community service at the Muscular Dystrophy Association in Beverly.
The AG’s Office began an investigation after the Massachusetts Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) finished its own investigation and referred the matter for prosecution. Duong was the owner of three companies based in Lowell: Middlesex Temporary Agency (Middlesex), Ankgor Staffing, Inc. (Ankgor), and General Labor Services (General Labor). All three companies provided unskilled labor, such as factory workers, to several client companies.
Over a three-year period Duong intentionally underreported his companies’ payrolls, the total number of employees, and the number of clients his employees worked for. Duong also misrepresented job classifications as part of a scheme to avoid paying higher workers comp premiums to two insurance companies. Investigators discovered that based on Duong’s false representations on his insurance policies, he avoided paying approximately $110,000 in workers comp premiums for a total of three policy periods. (WCxKit)
A Middlesex Grand Jury returned indictments against Duong and he was arraigned on in Middlesex Superior Court where he originally pleaded not guilty.
Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers Compensation costs, including airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. He is an editor and contributor to Workers Compensation Management Program: Reduce Costs 20% to 50%. Contact: Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
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