Business Owner Caught in Act of Criminal Fraud over Death of Employee

Jose Luis Guerrero the owner of a tree-pruning business faces multiple charges of insurance fraud stemming from the death of his employee. In 2007 his employee Gabriel Gonzalez- Ferrer, in his mid-twenties, died in a wood chipper incident. A police investigation determined that his body was accidentally caught in the wood chipper. Now authorities allege that Guerrero filed an insurance claim for the deceased family to collect benefits even though he had never paid a premium for his employee. It was also uncovered that he under-reported his payroll by an amount greater then 2 million, allowing him to pay less in workers compensation insurance premiums. He is also being charged with evading taxes by paying his employees in cash. There are also felony charges of failing to file a return and misrepresenting information to the State Compensation Insurance Fund.