Roger B. Handberg, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida
Jacksonville, Florida – Jose Molina-Herrera, a 27-year-old Honduran national, was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and defraud the United States. Senior U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis delivered the sentence, which includes forfeiture of $867,005 and restitution of $3,558,579.42 to the IRS. Molina-Herrera had pleaded guilty on November 1, 2024.
Court documents reveal that between 2019 and 2020, Molina-Herrera collaborated with others to pay construction workers "off the books." This scheme aimed to avoid paying premiums for workers' compensation insurance and payroll taxes. All National Remodeling LLC, a shell company formed by Molina-Herrera, facilitated cash payments to workers and distributed fraudulent certificates of liability insurance.
The contractors used these certificates as proof of insurance without actually paying any premiums. This led to over $2.2 million in losses for the insurance company involved. Additionally, more than $14 million was paid out without withholding payroll taxes, resulting in a loss exceeding $3.5 million for the U.S. Treasury.
Oscar Molina-Avila, one of Molina-Herrera's co-conspirators, previously received a 52-month prison sentence for his involvement in the scheme.
"Using shell companies to pay workers under the table is not only illegal," stated Ron Loecker from IRS-Criminal Investigation’s Tampa Field Office. "We will continue to investigate these schemes."
Tim Hemker from Homeland Security Investigations added that such activities "undermine the integrity of our legal and economic systems."
The investigation was conducted by IRS-Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Florida Department of Financial Services – Bureau of Insurance Fraud. Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Coolican prosecuted the case.
