A Florida woman is the third to plead guilty to federal charges for conspiracy to defraud the United States and IRS through shell companies claiming to supply laborers to contractors and subcontractors.
The charges against Gabriela Inamagua, 29, Davenport, Florida, were detailed in a release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Middle District of Florida. Inamagua was sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison and ordered to pay $8.9 million in restitution to two victim insurance companies and the IRS.
The scheme was a family affair, according to the Claims Journal. Inamagua’s father, Guillermo Inamagua, and her father’s former girlfriend, Mayra Velasquez, were convicted of similar crimes in 2022.
“The construction industry as a whole suffers when fraudsters exploit the system by creating fictitious shell companies to illegally pay workers off the books in order to scam insurance companies and avoid employment taxes,” said IRS-CI Acting Special Agent in Charge Tara K. Reed. “Today's sentencing is a reminder that all businesses and employees are responsible for their fair share of taxes. IRS-CI and our law enforcement partners will continue building cases with these schemes and bringing those responsible to justice.”
[Related: Construction Sees Rise in Payroll Tax Evasion, Worker's Comp Fraud]
Court documents revealed that Inamagua owned and managed two “shell” construction companies, Uno Construction and Perfect Builders Group, which claimed to supply construction services and labor for construction contractors and subcontractors. Per standard practice, the companies were required to maintain adequate worker’s compensation insurance coverage for the employees hired.
Inamagua’s companies made agreements with contractors and subcontractors. She posed to be the employer of the workers, who were often undocumented aliens. In reality, the workers were employees of said contractors.
