APALACHIN, N.Y. — Two Tioga County contractors are under arrest and facing charges for allegedly not having workers’-compensation insurance at three construction projects in Apalachin.
New York State Workers’ Compensation Law requires all contractors to carry workers’-compensation insurance for their employees. Failing to carry insurance for more than five employees is a felony, the office of New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang said.
The accused — Robert Peretore, 37, and Jeremy W. Hall, 41, both of Apalachin — were arraigned in Owego Town Court.
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Peretore is charged with two counts of offering a false instrument for filing, two counts of fraudulent practices, and one count of failure to secure compensation.
Hall is charged with one count of offering to a false instrument for filing, one count of fraudulent practices, and one count of failure to secure compensation.
“Business owners must provide legally required workers’-compensation insurance for their workers, or they will be held accountable,” Lang said. “Putting workers at risk to save a buck is unacceptable in New York State.”
Case background
An investigation by the Office of the Workers’ Compensation Fraud Inspector General found that Peretore and Hall had submitted building permits to the Town of Owego between October 2020 and April 2021 for three separate construction projects.
Peretore and Hall sometimes operated under the business name T&R Contracting Services, LLC, Lang’s office said.
In the permits, the pair claimed that they did not need to obtain workers’-compensation insurance because they had no employees. However, Peretore and Hall did employ workers on the projects but failed to obtain workers’-compensation insurance, per Lang’s office.
The projects included construction of a storage shed, repair of a collapsed barn, and installation of a roof and siding on a home.
Lang’s office notes that the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.
The Tioga County District Attorney’s office prosecuted the case, and the New York State Police made the arrests. Bryan Richmond, attorney-in-charge for workers’-compensation fraud, and Sherry Amarel, chief of investigations for the Upstate regional office, handled the investigation, per Lang’s office.
The Workers’ Compensation Fraud Inspector General investigates fraud, abuse and/or illegal acts against the New York State Workers’ Compensation system, including fraud by medical-service providers, employers seeking to evade appropriate workers’-compensation charges, and employees who fabricate injuries to fraudulently receive system benefits.
