Missouri-based Construction Company and President Indicted for Failing to Pay Unemployment Contributions
BOSTON – (RealEstateRama) — The president of a Missouri-based construction company has been indicted on charges of unemployment fraud in connection with allegedly failing to pay unemployment insurance contributions to the Department of Unemployment Assistance, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today.
Dan Glidewell, age 47, of St. Louis, Missouri, and Glidewell-Therrien Construction, LLC, which had been based in St. Louis when it was operating, were indicted Monday by a Suffolk County Grand Jury on charges of Unemployment Fraud. The arraignment is scheduled for Nov. 28 in Suffolk Superior Court.
“The unemployment insurance program is meant to be a short-term solution for workers who have lost their jobs,” said AG Healey. “By allegedly failing to pay thousands of dollars into this state program, these defendants put a strain on the system and placed a burden on businesses that comply with the law.”
This investigation was referred to the AG’s Office by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development’s Department of Unemployment Assistance (EOLWD/DUA).
“The collaboration between the Department of Unemployment Assistance and the Attorney General’s staff ensures we are able to aggressively pursue money owed to the Commonwealth,” DUA Director Robert Cunningham said. “We are vigilant about safeguarding the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund from unscrupulous employers, and protecting businesses that pay appropriately.”
An investigation revealed that Glidewell and Glidewell-Therrien Construction failed to pay full employer tax contributions to the Department of Unemployment Assistance from the first quarter of 2014 through the first quarter of 2015 for a total of five quarters.
Authorities allege that as the result of the nonpayment, Glidewell and Glidewell-Therrien owes the DUA $189,527.46 in employer tax.
The DUA provides temporary assistance to unemployed workers through the Unemployment Insurance (UI) program, which is funded by employer contributions. Private employers like Glidewell-Therrien are required to pay quarterly contributions into the trust fund based on the number of workers they employ and how often their workers have accessed UI benefits, among other factors.
The DUA’s Program Integrity Department focuses on the prevention, detection and the investigation of those who defraud or attempt to defraud the unemployment insurance program. Once fraud is detected, the Program Integrity Department works aggressively with the Attorney General’s office and other agencies to recover money owed to the UI Trust Fund.
AG Healey’s Insurance and Unemployment Fraud Unit works to protect consumers and the integrity of the insurance system by investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against all types of insurers, including the state’s unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation systems.
To report unemployment fraud call the EOLWD/DUA’s Fraud Hotline at 1-800-354-9927 or visit: http://www.mass.gov/lwd/ui-fraud anytime, 24 hours a day. Callers may remain anonymous.
This case was handled by Assistant Attorney General Joshua Pakstis of AG Healey’s Insurance and Unemployment Fraud Unit with assistance from Investigator Kim Medeiros, also of AG Healey’s Insurance and Unemployment Fraud Unit, and investigators from the DUA.
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