San Diego Authorities Put the Hammer to Major Workers’ Comp Roofing Scam

San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis reported that 12 officials of Escondido-based Mayer Roofing Company have been indicted by a grand jury on felony charges related to a workers’ compensation premium fraud scheme worth $4.5 million over three years, the largest case of its kind in San Diego County and one of the largest in California.

“We believe the owners of this company, right down to the office manager, knew that timecards were being falsified in order to obtain an unfair advantage on workers’ comp premiums. Key members of this company were scamming the system,” Dumanis said. “This illegal practice results in honest employers losing contracts and ultimately driving them out of business.”

Beginning in December 2004, the San Diego District Attorney’s Office and the Department of Insurance served 15 search warrants at Mayer Roofing offices in San Diego, Riverside and Los Angeles Counties. Forty-five computers and 187 boxes of evidence were seized.

While working closely with State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF), investigators reportedly discovered that Mayer inflated hourly wages to qualify for workers’ comp premium rates reserved for roofing companies paying workers more than $20 an hour.

The defendants were indicted by a San Diego Grand Jury in February 2006. All of the defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy and three counts of insurance fraud. They could face up to 17 years in prison if convicted and a fine of up to $9 million.

They were to surrender at their arraignment Thursday, March 9, in San Diego.

Defendants include Paul Fredrick Mayer, 52; David Gordon Archer, 62; James Arthur Wiese, 53; Robert Gomez Del Real, 51; Armando Jasso, 52; and Laura Elena Caballero, 36, all of Escondido; Robert Osuna, 38, of Fallbrook; Judy Kay Toledo, 50, of Vista; Mark Daniel McMahon, 46, of Newhall; Richard Glen Hart, 48, of Hemet; Martin Jeffrey Stout, 45, of Riverside; and Blake Carlos Harrison, 45, of Temecula.

They include the two co-owners, corporate officers, project managers and human resources officials. Mayer Roofing was licensed in 1993 to provide roof installation for new construction projects throughout Southern California and Fresno. The corporate headquarters are located in Escondido. Other offices are located in Riverside, San Fernando and Bakersfield. More than 450 roofers are employed by the company.