Construction Company Owner Accused of Not Providing Workers’ Compensation Insurance Coverage
- Carlos Gutama, 28, an owner of Meriden, Conn.-based C&D Gutama Construction, was arrested July 7 and charged with one count of noncompliance with insurance requirements for allegedly failing to provide workers’ compensation coverage for his employees.
- The Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice said a joint site visit by the state Department of Labor and investigators from the Workers’ Compensation Fraud Control Unit found the company lacked required coverage during a Feb. 22, 2024 inspection at a Newington apartment roofing project.
- State law requires businesses to either prove their financial solvency to the Workers’ Compensation Commission or carry insurance covering their full liability for injured employees.
- The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Insurance Commissioner Partially Approves Rate Hike
- California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has approved an average workers’ compensation pure premium rate hike of 6.6% for policies incepting on or after Sept. 1.
- The increase in the benchmark rate is less than the 10.4% the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau had recommended, and slightly higher than the 4.8% employers and organized labor had suggested.
- The decision follows an 8.7% increase approved last year.
Mail Handler Nabbed for Workers’ Compensation Fraud
- A former Florida mail handler was sentenced to six years of supervised release after committing workers’ compensation fraud while receiving $2,500 in monthly tax-free disability payments for a 2024 shoulder injury his doctor said left him unable to work.
- The Postal Service Office of Inspector General received a fraud allegation and investigated with the Department of Homeland Security and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Task Force.
- Investigators used the employee’s own social media posts, showing him working out, swimming in the ocean, and cycling 100 miles in a day, as evidence he was not disabled as claimed.
- He pleaded guilty and received two days of time served, six years of supervised release, 150 hours of community service, and an order to repay $45,000.