JACKSONVILLE, FL — Three Floridians Plead Guilty: Three Orlando residents have pleaded guilty to federal charges in a sweeping fraud scheme that evaded tens of millions of dollars in workers’ compensation insurance premiums and payroll taxes, according to federal prosecutors.
Plea Agreements and Potential Sentences
Eduardo Anibal Escobar, Carlos Alberto Rodriguez, and Adelmy Tejada, all legal permanent residents from El Salvador, admitted to conspiring to commit wire fraud and tax fraud. Each defendant now faces up to 20 years in prison for the wire fraud charge and up to 5 years for the tax fraud offense. Three Floridians Plead Guilty
As part of the plea deal, the court ordered the trio to forfeit $8.76 million in profits and two Orlando homes purchased with illicit funds. Additionally, they must pay restitution totaling:
- $12.99 million to four insurance companies for unpaid premiums
- $397,895 for improperly paid workers’ compensation claims
- $36.96 million in unpaid federal employment taxes
How the Scheme Operated
Beginning in January 2015 and continuing through August 2024, the defendants carried out a complex scheme to defraud the insurance system and the IRS. They registered shell companies with the State of Florida, secured workers’ compensation policies that listed only a few employees and minimal payroll, and then falsely claimed to employ hundreds of subcontractors.
To execute the scheme, the trio partnered with construction subcontractors who needed insurance coverage. These subcontractors, often employing undocumented workers, paid the defendants to falsely represent that the workers were on their payroll. In return, the defendants provided documents to general contractors claiming the workers were insured through their companies.
As a result, the general contractors issued checks to the defendants’ shell companies. The trio then distributed the funds to the subcontractors’ workers—while keeping 6% to 8% in fees.
The Financial Impact
Over the course of the scheme, approximately $146 million in payroll flowed through the defendants’ companies. However, they failed to report this payroll to the IRS and avoided paying the associated taxes. Had they reported it properly, they would have owed nearly $37 million in payroll taxes.
Furthermore, insurance companies believed they were covering only the limited payroll amounts reported on the applications. In reality, they unknowingly provided coverage for the much larger unreported payroll, missing out on an estimated $13 million in premiums.
Ongoing Federal Crackdown
This case forms part of a broader federal effort targeting fraud in the construction industry, particularly the use of “ghost” employees and shell companies. The investigation was led by Homeland Security Investigations, IRS-Criminal Investigation, and the Florida Department of Financial Services.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Arnold B. Corsmeier is prosecuting the case, while Jennifer M. Harrington is handling asset forfeiture. Although the sentencing dates have not yet been set, authorities emphasized that similar investigations remain ongoing.
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