Calif. State Fund Awarded $135,000

California’s State Compensation Insurance Fund will collect $135,000 in restitution from a San Diego County-based construction firm as part of the sentence in a workers’ compensation insurance fraud case.

San Diego County Superior Court ordered Ray Charles Gauthier, owner of Gauthier Construction Inc., to pay restitution for a conviction on felony workers’ comp and unemployment insurance fraud.

State Fund audits revealed that Gauthier falsified information to avoid paying proper workers’ comp premiums. It was discovered that Gauthier was engaged in a “cash pay” scheme with a subcontractor. He would pay a subcontractor a percentage of the cash payroll so the subcontractor could use that money to pay Gauthier employees’ wages in cash that was not reported to State Fund.

A San Diego County Superior Court judge sentenced Gauthier to three years probation. In addition to paying State Fund, Gauthier also agreed to pay approximately $60,000 to the State Employment Development Department and $102,000 to the State Franchise Tax Board.