Duo Was Sentenced to 54 Million Dollars In Compensation For Employee's Compensation Insurance Fraud
worldinnews.com - A businessman and associate admitted to multiple felony counts of insurance fraud and conspiracy after investigators discovered that they conspired to commit a $54 million fraudulent workers' compensation scheme.
Wesley Owens, 54, was the leader of Bison Workforce Solutions, a company that provided outsourced workers' compensation insurance, human resources, payroll, tax, and other services to businesses.
The investigation by the California Department of Insurance revealed that Owens obtained business insurance for Bison, then used the documents provided by the insurance company to generate fraudulent certificates of insurance, which were then given to PEO customers. The insurance company was notified that the policy would only cover a small, white-collar company, not the PEO's customers who included agricultural workers, roofers, limo drivers, and a variety of other professions.
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Beau Wilson, 38, was found to have been aware of the scheme, he recruited customers for Bison and received a commission for each transaction.
Employees who lacked insurance were let go
Bison was unable to obtain workers' compensation insurance due to the ongoing corruption, as a result, the company established a business association with another company that already possessed a policy regarding this field. Owens and his associates began using the company's resources to continue producing fake insurance certificates.
The California Department of Insurance stated that Bison began taking on claims on their own in order to conceal the fact that their insurance policy was being misused to insure PEO's customers.
However, when the expense became too great for the company to finance, it ultimately abandoned payments and left workers without insurance that would compensate them after being injured on the job.
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Ultimately, the department determined that Bison failed to pay $29 million in premiums and deceived its PEO customers with $25.5 million in fees they thought were paid for workers' compensation.
Owens and Wilson will both receive 10 years of formal probation and 60 days of community service, the department said. Additionally, they were required to pay $350,000 in cash up front prior to their final sentencing in lieu of a restitution payment.
Wilson also agreed to sell additional real property and pay for the remainder with the proceeds.
They also agreed to an additional $14.15 million in restitution during their probation.
The case was prosecuted by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, and the initial sentence was set for September 13, 2023, along with a conditional discharge and probation.
