A Florida masonry contractor is out on bail today after he was charged with fraud for allegedly underreporting his payroll and getting his workers to cash their paychecks at a convenience store.

Sony Lundy
(Palm Beach Co. photo)

Authorities said Sony Lundy, 49, purchased a workers' compensation policy in June 2018. Based on a payroll of $78,000, the annual premium was $10,335, according to a local news report.

But an investigation found that the actual payroll for Lundy's Paloma Construction Co. was more than $147,000, and other contractors said they had paid him as much as $891,000, the report said. Lundy's workers cashed $911,000 in checks at a Boynton Beach convenience store, the Florida Department of Financial Services said.

Lundy's insurance carrier told state authorities that if the contractor had correctly reported his payroll, his annual premiums would have totaled almost $200,000.

Lundy, who has two other felony cases pending against him, was arrested after a traffic stop Monday, the newspaper reported. He was released Tuesday on $45,000 bond.