A federal grand jury in Orlando indicted four Honduran nationals—Iris Villafranca, Mario Flores, Osman Zapata, and Cristofer Oseguera Giron—for running an $89 million off-the-books cash payroll scheme from 2015 to 2022, federal officials stated this week.
They allegedly used shell companies to cash checks for construction subcontractors, enabling them to pay undocumented workers under the table and dodge payroll taxes.
The indictment claims the group also filed false tax documents, made minimal employment tax payments, and defrauded workers’ compensation insurers by leasing certificates and lying about workforce size and wages, according to authorities.
Villafranca alone is also charged with filing false tax returns from 2019 to 2022, omitting both illegal income and rental income.
If convicted, Villafranca faces up to 36 years in prison; the others each face up to 10 years.