Miami business owners arrested for workers' comp fraud, grand theft
The business shortchanged its workers’ comp carrier more than $127,000 in premiums by underreporting payroll.
A pair of Miami-area business owners were arrested for workers’ comp premium fraud and grand theft for underreporting payroll in an effort to secure lower premiums, according to the Florida Department of Financial Services.
Juana Ledezma and Luis Ledezma, who operate Superior Group Management Inc., applied for workers’ compensation coverage from Clear Spring Insurance Co. in 2020. At the time, the company estimated its annual payroll for the policy year would be $500,000 and was issued a policy with a premium of $31,294.
However, a DFS investigation revealed that Superior Group Management collected more than $2.6 million in labor costs. The company failed to update this payroll increase with its workers’ comp carrier. If the Ledezmas had properly reported payroll, the company’s premium would have been $127,660 higher, DFS reported.
Juana Ledezma was arrested on Jan. 12, 2024, and Luis was arrested on Jan. 16. Both were booked into the Miami-Dade County Jail. Each could face up to 60 years in prison if convicted of the first degree felony charges.
According to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, the workers’ comp system sees around $34 billion in fraud each year. Around $9 billion of that total comes from premium fraud, while the remained is lost to claims fraud.
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