Kern County Couple Face Multiple Felony Charges for Alleged $4M Insurance Fraud, Conspiracy
A couple in Kern County are reportedly facing multiple felony counts relating to alleged insurance fraud and conspiracy.
According to a press release by the California Department of Insurance, Brian Hill (64) and Leslie Hill (68), owners of Brian Hill Construction, Inc., are facing multiple felony counts of insurance fraud and conspiracy. The charges come after an investigation conducted by the Department of Insurance, which revealed that the couple had allegedly underreported employee payroll for their construction company, resulting in the illegal reduction of workers’ compensation insurance premiums and owed premiums of $2,542,365 to the insurance companies.
The Department of Insurance launched the investigation into Brian Hill Construction, Inc. following information received about an employee being paid with a combination of check and cash, with the cash payments not being reported to the workers’ compensation carrier.
Investigators allege that the construction company held a workers’ compensation insurance policy through State Compensation Insurance Fund from July 2017 to October 2019. However, during this period, the company only reported approximately $135,667 in employee payroll to the insurance carrier. The Department’s audit later reportedly uncovered that the actual employee payroll during that time was over $3.6 million.
Later, from October 2019 to October 2020, Brian Hill Construction, Inc. held a workers’ compensation insurance policy through Benchmark Insurance. The company reported about $9,140 in employee payroll for the period from October 2019 to June 2020. But the Department’s audit revealed the true figure to be over $500,000.
As a result of the investigation, it was discovered that the couple failed to report over $4,025,250 in employee payroll to their insurance carriers over a three-year period, leading to the illegal reduction of workers’ compensation insurance premiums.
The investigation also revealed that one employee of Brian Hill Construction Inc. was injured on the job and should have been entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, but the Hills allegedly circumvented the process by paying the medical facility directly, thus denying the injured worker the rightful benefits.
While Brian Hill has already been arraigned, Leslie Hill’s arraignment is scheduled for today, July 27, 2023. The Kern County District Attorney’s Office is handling the prosecution of this case.
The Department of Insurance emphasizes its commitment to protecting employees from such mistreatment and urges anyone who believes they may have been denied workers’ compensation benefits after a workplace injury to contact the Department for assistance.
