According to the Office of the Attorney General, 48-year-old Andres Minaya and 29-year-old Jenny Minaya of Milltown, NJ were arrested last month in connection to a scam in which the husband and wife, owners of temporary staffing companies, severely under-reported the number of employees and also severely under-reported their income by $30 million to avoid paying higher premiums for workers’ compensation and higher income tax between the years of 2009 to 2013.The Minaya’s operated under Olympus Management Services, Atlantic Personnel, and several other names. Six search warrants were executed in total to retrieve financial documents and electronic devices at five Olympus locations and at AM Professional Services, which is a tax preparation business that the couple allegedly own. In addition, the couple’s personal and corporate funds have been frozen and their home, worth $1.5 million, is being seized as well.According to the Office of The Attorney General, “The investigation began when the case was referred to OIFP by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, which conducted an audit of Andres’ staffing company (then called Atlantis Personnel), which carried workers compensation coverage through Liberty from May 2011 through February of 2013. During the audit, Liberty allegedly found gross misrepresentations by Andres concerning the number of employees Atlantis outsourced and total employee salaries. Andres supplied federal tax returns and partial bank statements which were allegedly inconsistent with the amount of business he claimed he did in New Jersey. After the audit, Liberty adjusted the premium owed by Minaya by approximately $1 million. Minaya allegedly did not pay and instead canceled the policy and created a new company under the Olympus name. The OIFP and the New Jersey Department of the Treasury, Office of Criminal Investigation opened a joint investigation ultimately resulting in the searches and arrests.”Andres Minaya and Jenny Minaya have both been charged with first-degree financial facilitation of criminal activity. Andres has also been charged with filing a false return and second-degree insurance fraud. In addition, 34-year-old Randy Colon, the Minayas’ nephew, of Somerset, NJ has been arrested and charged with second-degree insurance fraud, as he purchased Olympus Management from his uncle purportedly as a part of the ongoing workers’ compensation scam.The Minaya’s are facing up to 20 years in prison and a $200,000 fine (each) if proven guilty of first-degree offenses. The second-degree offenses carry sentences of a maximum of a 10-year prison term and $150,000 in fines if proven guilty.Source
- Dean Smith