Jeff Atwater, Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, announced earlier this month the arrest of Maira Chirinos, the owner of Pompano Beach-based Tocoa Builders, Inc. Allegedly, Chirinos has misrepresented information regarding the company’s operations, employees, and payroll when applying for a workers’ compensation policy.
Chirinos’ misrepresentation of company information purportedly avoided at least $1.8 million in workers’ compensation premium payments.
The Florida Department of Financial Services, under the supervision of Atwater, began investigating Chirinos for violating a “stop work” order.
The initial investigation offered enough compelling information that exposed Chirinos alleged fabrication of information to avoid paying more for a workers’ compensation policy. Another investigation was launched by the Department’s Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Compliance and Division of Insurance Fraud to get to the bottom of the purported scheme.
According to investigators, Chirinos allegedly underreported Tocoa Builders’s payroll, number of employees, and datat pertaining to company day-to-day operations to Madison Insurance Company.
Over $11 million in payroll checkers were cashed during the dates represented on the policy paperwork—far more than the $76,000 Chirinos claimed.
Chirinos purportedly used a money service business in Broward County to cash the company’s payroll checks to circumvent workers’ compensation statutes.
She was arrested without incident and charged with the first degree felonies of workers’ compensation premium fraud and grand theft, an article on insurancejournal.com reported. If Chirinos is convicted, she could serve up to 20 years in incarceration.
The case will be prosecuted by the Office of State Attorney Michael J. Satz of the 17th Judicial Circuit.
