Florida Construction Company Charged with Defrauding Workers' Compensation Insurance Carrier

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08/22/2024

Florida Construction Company Charged with Defrauding Workers' Compensation Insurance Carrier

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Rocky Hill, CT) - Owners of ITO Construction, Inc., a Florida-based general contractor, have been arrested and charged with operating a business without a proper workers' compensation insurance policy, and for misrepresenting their employees as independent contractors.

Temur Arifov, of Marietta, Georgia, Oleg Arifov of Miami, Florida, and Ion Curmei, of Hallandale Beach, Florida, were arrested on August 16, 2024 by Inspectors from the Workers' Compensation Fraud Control Unit in the Office of the Chief State's Attorney on a warrant charging each with one count of Noncompliance with Insurance Requirements, in violation of Connecticut General Statues § 31-288(f), and Defrauding Workers' Compensation Insurance Carrier, in violation of Connecticut General Statues § 31-288 (g)(2)(A).

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, on February 1, 2024, through a collaborative investigation with the Connecticut Department of Labor - Wage & Workplace Standards Division, a visit to a worksite was conducted in the town of East Hartford uncovering that ITO Construction was hired to renovate a hotel building. Results of the investigation allege that the owners of ITO Construction failed to comply with the requirement to maintain a proper workers' compensation insurance policy in the state of Connecticut, and misrepresented to the insurance carrier that their employees on the job site were independent contractors.

Connecticut state law requires businesses to carry workers' compensation insurance to cover the full liability or demonstrate their solvency and financial ability to compensate injured employees or their beneficiaries, and pay the proper workers' compensation assessments.

The owners of ITO Construction all surrendered on August 16, 2024 at the Rocky Hill Police Department. They were each released on a $10,000 non-surety bond and are scheduled to appear in Manchester Superior Court, Geographical Area No. 12, on August 28, 2024.

The case will be prosecuted by the Workers' Compensation Fraud Control Unit in the Office of the Chief State's Attorney in Rocky Hill. The charges are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

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