Former Owner of Fresno County Trucking Company Arraigned in $2M Fraud Case
The former owner of a Fresno Country trucking company has reportedly been arraigned in connection with an investigation into an alleged $2 million workers’ compensation fraud scheme.
According to a press release by the California Department of Insurance, Heigo Kubar, 84, was arraigned on three felony counts of workers’ compensation fraud. An investigation by the Central Valley Workers’ Compensation Fraud Task Force found that he allegedly underreported over $2 million in payroll to lower workers’ compensation insurance costs for his trucking company, TKJ Trucking.
The investigation reportedly began after an employee was found dead in a company-owned semi-truck.
Kubar had allegedly classified the deceased employee as a salesperson rather than a truck driver 25 days after the employee had died. The employee had been working as a truck driver for TKJ Trucking for about 15 years.
At the time, the insurance premium for a salesperson was approximately $1 per $100 in payroll, compared to $20 per $100 in payroll for a truck driver.
An audit by the California Department of Insurance, part of the task force investigation, revealed that from December 1, 2018, to December 1, 2021, TKJ Trucking reported $875,591 in employee payroll but actually had $3,233,899 in payroll.
This meant that Kubar had underreported payroll by $2,358,307, resulting in $480,093 in unpaid insurance premiums.
The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case. Kubar is scheduled to appear in court on August 14 of this year.
The Central Valley Workers’ Compensation Fraud Task Force includes members from the California Department of Insurance, the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office, and several other county district attorney offices, along with the California Employment Development Department and the California Franchise Tax Board.
