Texas Construction Co. Indicted for Fraud
A Travis County (Texas) Grand Jury indicted Stan and Cynthia Doze, operators of Doze Construction Co. Inc., on a second-degree felony charge related to workers’ compensation premium fraud. The Doze Construction Co. is located in Gun Barrel City, about 60 miles southeast of Dallas.
Allegedly, the Dozes incorporated a second company in order to conceal employee payroll in an attempt to evade paying the legitimate insurance premium. Doze Construction then applied to Texas Mutual Insurance Co. for workers’ compensation insurance, but it reported only a fraction of its true payroll. Because workers’ compensation insurance premium is based in part on payroll, the scheme allowed Doze Construction to be charged much less than it actually owed.
“Anytime a policyholder falsely reports its payroll, classification codes, or experience modifier to avoid paying the legitimate premium, that’s fraud,” said Elliot Flood, vice president of Texas Mutual’s Special Investigations Department. “Premium fraud is a serious crime. It’s bad for honest competition in the marketplace, and it is bad for the fraudulent company’s workers, who are entitled to the benefits of workers’ compensation, a fact often hidden from them by the dishonest employer.”
Texas Mutual Insurance Co. maintains three teams of investigators permanently assigned to investigate every report of suspected fraud. The Doze Construction investigation is part of the company’s Zero Tolerance for Fraud program.