General Construction Contractor Sentenced to Prison
CALPASC Commends Collaborative Efforts of Government Agencies
SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In a June 24 press release, Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones announced that Monica Mui Ung, 51, owner and president of NBC General Contractor Corporation (NBC), entered guilty pleas in Alameda Superior Court for violating Section 11880 of the Insurance Code and Section 1778 of the Labor Code and admitted an enhancement of Section 186.11 of the Penal Code. Ung was sentenced to four years in state prison and ordered to repay $350,000 in restitution pro rata for the individual workers as well as $850,000 to the State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF).
Commissioner Jones stated in the release, "This is clearly a case of an unscrupulous building contractor misrepresenting the facts and illegally and unfairly winning public works projects. My department will investigate any business owner who tries to cheat the system in order to gain an unfair advantage."
According to the release, "By falsely reporting the type of work performed by employees and wages paid them, NBC not only exposed SCIF to additional risk they were not aware of, but allowed NBC to operate at an advantage over honest employers who correctly reported their payroll and risk. Public works projects are normally awarded to the lowest bidder. Business owners, such as the owners of NBC, who engage in falsely reporting information used by its carrier to calculate premiums owed allowed them a competitive advantage over honest contractors, thereby giving them the ability to underbid other competitors, and get jobs they might not otherwise have gotten."
California Labor Commissioner Julie Su commented in the release that "collaboration (between agencies) was vital in uncovering a multitude of illegal practices and holding this contractor fully accountable."
Following the distribution of the release, California Professional Association of Specialty Contractors (CALPASC) Chief Executive Officer Brad Diede issued this statement:
"We appreciate the collaborative efforts of the Insurance Commissioner, the Labor Commissioner and the District Attorney in catching non-compliant contractors.
"California has important laws and regulations that every employer needs to follow, and while they may add cost to implement, they protect the public, employees and owners of construction projects. All contractors need to follow these important laws to ensure bids for construction work are on a level playing field.
"According to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, since 2006, the construction industry has lost more than 415,000 jobs. It is estimated California's state and local governments lose approximately $1 billion in revenue annually due to contractors not adequately paying required wages, taxes and other fees.
"In 2010, CALPASC implemented the LEVEL Program to promote interaction with state agencies, other associations and legitimate contractors to crack down on construction contractors who cheat California and its residents out of hundreds of millions of dollars. We hope that publishing these violations will serve as a warning to owners, public entities, builders and contractors, creating an environment where legitimate and compliant contractors can fairly compete for the work!"
SOURCE California Professional Association of Specialty Contractors (CALPASC)
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