A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigation has led to federal prison sentences for two Jacksonville residents involved in a fraudulent scheme related to their roofing business operations. Travis Morgan Slaughter and Tripp Charles Slaughter were sentenced on March 19, with Travis receiving 41 months and Tripp receiving 21 months for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, as well as tax fraud.
"The Slaughters defrauded insurance companies of millions in workers’ compensation insurance premiums and will be responsible for financial restitution for the loss of insurance premiums and death and injury claims," stated Tim Hemker, Assistant Special Agent in Charge at ICE Homeland Security Investigations Tampa, Jacksonville office. "As part of this criminal enterprise, they also exploited the labor of hundreds of illegal aliens."
The investigation uncovered that approximately 273 illegal alien employees were exploited in a multi-million-dollar fraud scheme. Payments made to crew leaders and third parties were not recorded officially to avoid payroll taxes and insurance premiums. The court ordered forfeitures against Travis Slaughter amounting to $2,780,947.56 and against Tripp Slaughter totaling $416,799.66.
Restitution orders included Travis paying $6,768,612.32 to the IRS for payroll tax losses and other amounts to insurance companies for unpaid premiums and claims. Tripp was ordered to pay $623,269.64 to the IRS along with additional sums to an insurance company.
Travis operated a roofing business under various names since 2007, which later became 5 Star Roofing Services incorporated by Tripp in January 2020. Despite changes in name, the businesses operated similarly using professional employer organizations (PEOs) for payroll processing but failed to report all wages accurately.
Special Agent Ron Loecker from the IRS Criminal Investigation's Tampa Field Office remarked on the case: "The actions of these two defendants represent a blatant disregard for U.S. law and our financial systems... Their scheme to evade millions of dollars in taxes not only undermined the integrity of our tax system but also created an unfair advantage."
The investigation was conducted by ICE HSI alongside other agencies including IRS Criminal Investigation and Florida Department of Financial Services. The prosecution was led by Assistant United States Attorney Arnold B. Corsmeier with asset forfeiture handled by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer M. Harrington.
