Staffing Firm Owner and Daughter Accused of Defrauding Comp Insurer

Friday, June 1, 2018 | 0

The owner of a Massachusetts temporary employment agency, and her daughter, face insurance fraud charges for allegedly disguising the size of the company’s payroll to avoid workers’ compensation premiums.

Rossy Noriega, of Providence, Rhode Island, was the sole owner of New Diamond Work. Her daughter, 30-year-old Sendy Noriega, worked at the business. 

Rossy Noriega, 52, was indicted by a statewide grand jury on two counts of workers’ compensation fraud and one count of larceny over $250. Sendy Noriega was indicted on four counts of workers’ compensation fraud and one count of larceny over $250. 

Investigators for the Massachusetts Insurance Fraud Bureau allege that from 2009 to 2014, New Diamond underreported to its insurer the number of employees it had and the amount they were paid, evading more than $106,000 in premiums. 

New Diamond dissolved in 2017. 

The indictment marks Rossy Noriega’s second run-in with authorities. In June 2016 she was sentenced to two years' probation and six months' home confinement for failing to pay employment taxes. 

Federal prosecutors said Noriega admitted that she withdrew $2.5 million from New Diamond bank accounts from 2009 to 2013 and paid employees in cash. She underreported payroll to the Internal Revenue Service to avoid taxes and failed to report her own personal income, avoiding $720,923 in employment and personal income taxes, the U.S. Attorneys Office said.