Northern California Business Owner Sentenced For Premium Fraud

A Northern California business owner has been sentenced for workers’ compensation insurance premium fraud and pay over $2 million in restitution to insurers, the California Department of Insurance announced on Wednesday.

Teresa Reif, 34, of Redwood City, Calif., who originally plead no contest to eight felony counts, was sentenced in San Mateo County Superior Court to serve one year in jail, five years of probation as well as being ordered to pay over $2 million in restitution to the insurers that she defrauded.

In 2011 Reif was president of Genesis Building Services Inc. which operated a janitorial and pest control company in the Bay Area, according to CDI.

An investigation lasting several years found Reif had misrepresented the number of employees at the company as well as its actual payroll when applying for workers’ compensation insurance to its insurer.

The insurer received conflicting statements from Genesis staff regarding the actual number of employees at the company, and the insurer notified CDI and the fraud division began an investigation which eventually led to the arrest of Reif.

The case was prosecuted by the San Mateo County District Attorney’s office.