Owner Sentenced, fined $1.2M for Workers’ Comp Scheme Uncovered After Tragedy

www.Insurancejournal.com, August 14, 2025

A large-scale workers’ compensation fraud and tax evasion scheme that came to light when an employee was killed while removing a sign from a brewery has resulted in the sentencing of a construction firm owner.

According to New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang, Quirino Rotondo, owner of Metro Industrial Wrecking & Environmental Construction in Dix Hills, was recently sentenced to a year in prison and two years of supervised release and ordered to pay $1.2 million in restitution for his role in the scheme.

Rotondo’s sentencing came following a joint investigation by the Inspector General, Internal Revenue Service and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Specifically, Rotondo was ordered to pay $174,070 to the New York State Insurance Fund; $546,562 to the IRS; and $515,173 to Continental Insurance.

The joint investigation revealed that as a way to obtain lower premiums, Rotondo falsely classified high-risk demolition workers as low-risk employees and claimed they were performing clerical, carpentry, or painting work when applying for workers’ compensation insurance. Rotondo also insured his workers under a network of unrelated companies, effectively shielding his own business from liability while placing workers at risk. Continue article