Mistrial Declared in Business Owner Fraud Case

The owner of a gardening company who was accused by the Riverside County Deputy District Attorney of duping insurance companies out of over half a million dollars walked free last week after the judge in the case declared a mistrial due to a hung jury.  Jesse Garcias Contreras, 59, was charged with six felony counts of workers’ compensation insurance fraud, each carrying a jail time of three years, when he faced a jury last month. Two of those counts were dropped, still leaving a potential sentence of up to 12 years behind bars, according to the Desert Sun.   Jurors had ...