We are happy to announce that the Central South Carpenters helped Louisiana authorities secure a multi-count indictment against a labor broker, operating in Louisiana, who was allegedly breaking many workers compensation laws.
Manuel A. Reyes, who allegedly runs a company called Rey-Co, was indicted late last year and is set to appear in court in the coming weeks to face charges related to violations of state workers’ compensation laws. Reyes, a sheetrock contractor located in Metairie, Louisiana is alleged to have committed fraud in that he:
Reyes has pled not guilty to all counts. Motion hearings have been set for March 2020. If convicted, Reyes could face up to $200,000 in criminal fines, imprisonment at hard labor for up to ten years, and restitution.
The East Baton Rouge Parish Grand Jury indicted Reyes on multiple charges after the Louisiana Workforce Commission accused him of engaging in unlawful practices under the Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Law.
The collaboration between the Central South Carpenters, the LWC and the District Attorney’s office is the first of its kind in the state and this is its first indictment.
The Central South Carpenters Regional Council is aggressively fighting this epidemic, which is also referred to as Construction Tax Fraud. “To be clear, we aren’t stopping or slowing down in our efforts to fight this problem until it is eradicated from the construction industry,” said Jason Engels, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Central South Carpenters. “We will continue to fuel the LWC and any other governmental authority with information we gather in the field and we anticipate many more indictments like the one recently handed to Mr. Reyes."
Why fraudulent misclassification is harmful to everyone: