Contractor Pleads Guilty to Payroll Fraud

A Simi Valley contractor pleaded guilty to two felony counts of workers’ compensation fraud, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office announced. James Wood, 49, admitted to misrepresenting his total payroll and number of workers between 2015 and 2017 to fraudulently lower his workers’ compensation premiums, prosecutors said. Wood has already paid State Compensation Insurance Fund $151,891 in restitution. Wood is scheduled to return to court May 13 for a sentencing hearing in which prosecutors said he faces a maximum of six years in jail. ...