VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – Juana Patricia Barajas of Santa Paula is facing charges of grand theft, workers' compensation fraud and operating without proper insurance coverage while running a local labor contracting business.
Barajas is facing two counts of workers compensation insurance fraud, two counts of failing to secure workers compensation insurance, and one count of grand theft and she pled not guilty to all charged counts during court proceedings shared the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
She is next due back in court on June 25 of this year.
According to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, Barajas is alleged to have underreported payroll information to workers' compensation insurance carriers and operated her farm labor contracting company without legally required insurance coverage for parts of 2021 through 2023.
An investigation showed that Barajas got a workers' compensation insurance policy through the State Compensation Insurance Fund (State Fund) on January 11, 2020, noted the local prosecutor's office.
It is alleged that Barajas repeatedly reported zero employees and zero payroll to the State Fund while she actually employed up to ten workers in agriculture-related work, including avocado picking, detailed the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
Her insurance policy remained active until it was canceled for nonpayment on September 17, 2021, shared the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
The District Attorney's Office Bureau of Investigation found payroll records, banking information, and payroll company documents that show a substantially higher employee payroll than was reported to the insurer resulting in an estimated loss of $82,000 for the State Fund stated the prosecutor's office.
The State Fund was made aware of the insurance issue in mid-2021 after two workers had significant injuries following an ATV crash during a job at a local ranch explained the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
According to the District Attorney's Office, between September 17, 2021 and July 23, 2023, Barajas operated her company across Ventura County without workers' compensation insurance coverage and provided an allegedly falsified certificate of insurance to a Fillmore ranch owner.
Once the rancher found out that the insurance policy had been canceled, Barajas is alleged to have issued a refund payment referencing "WC & Liability Ins." noted the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
On July 23, 2022, Barajas obtained a workers' compensation policy through biBerk Business Insurance, but allegedly underreported payroll and did not disclose prior workplace accidents during the application process detailed the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
Investigators determined that the underreported payroll resulted in more than $32,000 in unpaid insurance premiums owed to biBerk Business Insurance added the prosecutor's office.
Barajas remains out of custody on her own recognizance shared the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
Juana Barajas facing charges of grand theft and workers’ compensation insurance fraud News Channel 3-12.
Hence then, the article about juana barajas facing charges of grand theft and workers compensation insurance fraud was published today ( ) and is available on News channel ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Juana Barajas facing charges of grand theft and workers’ compensation insurance fraud )
Also on site :
- My 5-Year-Old Told Us What Grandpa Did to Him. Now My Husband Wants My Parents Out of Our Lives.
- Quote of the Day: Warren Buffett on How One Choice Can Change Everything
- Number of martyrs in Israeli genocide in Gaza rises to 72,988