Four people, including two Inland Empire attorneys, were charged in a workers’ compensation fraud scheme that targeted Spanish speakers, the California Department of Insurance announced.
“This is a disturbing case of alleged fraud that preyed on vulnerable, hardworking people,” said Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara.
The estimated loss in the case exceeds $14.5 million, the insurance department said in a news release on Thursday, April 24.
In Oct. 2022, the department launched an investigation after they received reports that Spanish-speaking workers had been contacted by a call center based in Mexico which allegedly promised workers they could receive money through workers’ compensation claims.
Misled, many workers unknowingly filed official workers’ comp claim paperwork that was unlawfully sold to Southern California attorneys, including 41-year-old Michael De La Garza from Fontana and 55-year-old Antony Gluck from San Bernardino.
Gluck and De La Garza were arrested on April 23 by detectives from the Department of Insurance. They were being held on $500,000 bail and were charged with felony conspiracy and unlawful referrals.
The other two defendants are Arely Franco, 42, from San Diego, and Juan Leal, 57, from Riverside. Franco was arrested while she attempted to enter the U.S. from a port of entry. She was arraigned and released after she was charged with felony conspiracy and multiple counts of unlawful referrals of workers’ compensation claims.
From January 2022 to September 2023, Franco allegedly sold approximately 320 clients to attorney De La Garza and his business partner Leal for $168,750. From September 2021 to October 2024, Franco sold an additional 798 clients to attorney Gluck for $388,500, officials said in a statement.
Leal, who had prior convictions for similar offenses, according to the insurance department, surrendered and was arraigned on felony conspiracy and unlawful referrals.
The insurance department said it based its $14.5 million estimate on a 2024 report from the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau, which stated the average workers’ compensation claim costs approximately $13,000.
The case is being prosecuted by the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office.