Duo sentenced for $54m staff’ comp insurance coverage fraud scheme

A businessman and his affiliate pleaded no contest to more than one legal counts of insurance coverage fraud and conspiracy after an investigation discovered that they conspired to dedicate a $54 million staff’ reimbursement scheme.

Wesley Owens, 54, was once the landlord and CEO of Atlanta-based Bison Group of workers Answers, a qualified employer group (PEO) that supplied outsourced staff’ reimbursement insurance coverage, human sources, payroll, tax, and different products and services to companies.

In keeping with the investigation carried out by way of the California Division of Insurance coverage, Owens acquired staff’ reimbursement insurance coverage for Bison after which used the paperwork supplied by way of the insurance coverage corporate to generate fraudulent certificate of insurance coverage, which have been issued to PEO shoppers. The insurance coverage provider was once knowledgeable the coverage was once to hide a small, white-collar company, no longer the PEO shoppers’ companies that integrated agricultural staff, roofers, limo drivers, and all kinds of different workers.

Beau Wilson, 38, was once discovered to were conscious about this scheme, recruiting shoppers for Bison and receiving commissions for each and every consumer.

Employees left with out a insurance policy

Bison was once not able to acquire staff’ reimbursement insurance coverage because of the ongoing fraud, so the corporate entered right into a trade courting with any other company that already had a staff’ reimbursement insurance coverage, consistent with the investigation. Owens and his co-conspirators started the use of that company’s paperwork to proceed producing pretend insurance coverage certificate.