Temp Company Owners Plead to 'Off-the-Books' Operation, Then One Goes Missing

Wednesday, December 18, 2019 | 0

The owners of a temporary staffing company in Boston have pleaded guilty to running an elaborate wage theft and payroll fraud scheme.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said Fabiola Ramirez, 49, and Robert Carrion, owners of Country Temp Corp. of Roslindale, had pleaded guilty in Suffolk Superior Court in connection with an “off-the-books” operation that shorted laundry workers of wages and benefits. The pair had been charged with tax and unemployment fraud, intimidating a witness and failure to make unemployment insurance contributions.

The announcement did not say if the owners had failed to obtain workers' compensation insurance in what is considered an injury-prone classification, but officials have said that is often the case in operations that are found to be cash-only or off-the-books.

The owners also intimidated and threatened the workers while an investigation was underway, Healey said. In 2014 and 2015, the owners paid more than $1.36 million in taxable wages but failed to report it to the state. The operation also paid the workers less than minimum wage, Healey said.

Suffolk Court Judge Robert Tochka sentenced Ramirez to five years of probation, to have no contact with the victims and to pay $300 a month in restitution to the state Department of Revenue.

Carrion skipped a bail revocation hearing in October and has not been found. He is believed to be in the Dominican Republic, according to the attorney general's office.