SAN DIEGO (CNS) - An East County-based plumbing contractor has been ordered to pay more than $1 million in restitution in a workers' compensation fraud case brought by local prosecutors.
The San Diego County District Attorney's Office said an investigation and audit into GPS Plumbing found that the company wasn't reporting millions of dollars in payroll.
The wages GPS Plumbing reported to the Employment Development Department and the wages it reported to the State Compensation Insurance Fund -- which provided the company with workers' compensation insurance coverage -- revealed "a vast difference," the DA's Office said.
The company's owner, Daniela Birdwell, pleaded guilty to one count of workers' compensation insurance premium fraud. Along with the $1,030,062 restitution order, Birdwell was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to perform 320 hours of community service.
"Employers who engage in premium fraud are not only breaking the law, they also gain an unfair advantage over their competitors," San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said in a statement.
The DA's Office said insurance fraud is the second-largest economic crime in the nation, costing consumers an estimated $80 billion to $90 billion annually.
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