Merced County ag company owner, daughter accused of $2.5M insurance fraud, says state
A Merced County business owner and his daughter were arraigned Monday for about $2.5 million in alleged insurance fraud that potentially left farmworkers without insurance, according to the California Department of Insurance.
The owner of Agriculture Services Inc., 63-year-old Felipe Saurez Barocio of Atwater, and his daughter, 33-year-old Angelita Barocio-Negrete of Merced, are accused of several felonies, according to authorities.
Saurez Barocio and his daughter under-reported employee payroll by $11 million to reduce the company’s workers’ compensation insurance costs by more than $2.5 million, investigators say.
The State Compensation Insurance Fund on Oct. 14 filed a claim against the company, which was a farm labor contracting business.
Investigators allege Saurez Barocio and his daughter, who worked as the office manager, submitted fabricated employee reports on workers’ compensation insurance from 2015 to 2019.
Officials compared those reports with information submitted to the Employment Development Department and discovered an $11 million discrepancy, according to investigators.
Underreporting payroll can give a business an unfair advantage over legitimate businesses, according to Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara.
“We all pay the price for insurance fraud through increased costs for services and higher premiums,” he said in a news release.
Barocio and his daughter are scheduled to return to court on Oct. 27.
This story was originally published September 14, 2020 at 2:31 PM.
