Two Plead Guilty for Roles in Payroll Scheme

A pair of Florida men pleaded guilty to operating a long-running payroll scheme that skirted more than $10 million in federal tax and defrauded workers' compensation carriers. Michael Mayorga and Francisco Alvarez on Thursday entered their pleas in court for the Middle District of Florida. Each faces a maximum of five years in prison, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. From 2015 to 2022, Mayorga and Alvarez conspired to pay cash to undocumented construction workers, created shell companies to cash checks, and prepared false tax returns, the government said. They cashed mor...