SAN LUIS OBISPO /SAN FRANCISCO - State Compensation Insurance Fund recently received $64,000 in restitution from the owner of a San Luis Obispo county moving company.  Mark John Frey, 38, of Oceano, pleaded no contest on May 15 to one count of workers' compensation insurance premium fraud and two counts of unemployment insurance code tax fraud and tax evasion violations.  The case centered on Frey’s failure to accurately report his employee payroll at ASAP Movers to State Fund. 

Frey was sentenced to 90 days in jail, including three years of supervised probation and ordered to pay full restitution to State Fund.  In addition, he was ordered to pay restitution of over $34,000 to the California Employment Development Department (EDD).

The fraud first came to light when San Luis Obispo authorities received a tip that Frey was paying his employees mostly ‘under the table’ in cash and partly by check. San Luis Obispo officials then informed State Fund investigators about the possible fraud. A State Fund audit was performed of Frey’s records. The investigators then submitted a suspected fraudulent claim to the San Luis Obispo District Attorney’s Office.  The DA’s office investigated and filed fraud insurance code violation charges.

"This case underscores State Fund’s ongoing commitment to investigate and fight all types of fraud which robs California's workers’ compensation system of millions of dollars each year,” said Donna Gallagher, Manager of State Fund’s Fraud Investigation Program (FIP).

Frey’s furniture moving company has been insured with State Fund since October 2002 and he is still currently insured by the company.

State Fund’s Fraud Investigation Program (FIP) addresses all aspects of workers’ compensation insurance fraud, including employee, employer, medical, legal and internal. In the last decade, State Fund’s FIP has produced hundreds of arrests and convictions in a wide range of workers’ compensation cases, including some considered milestones in California’s fight against fraud.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Established by the California Legislature in 1914, State Compensation Insurance Fund guarantees the availability of workers' compensation coverage at cost to all California employers and competes fairly with private carriers. State Fund is a wholly self-supporting non-profit enterprise that serves as a moderating and stabilizing influence on California's workers' compensation insurance system.