A man who fraudulently became a housing contractor in California was sentenced to 10 years in prison, according to local television station KCRA-TV. The man was found guilty of insurance fraud, wage theft, perjury, and grand theft, according to local officials.
According to the Yolo County District Attorney's Office, Earl “EJ” Thompson persuaded his wife and a friend to put their names on a new business, called Russell/Thompson, after his California contractor's license was revoked for fraud. Thompson then secretly ran the business using the fraudulent license, officials said.
His business was able to obtain a contract with UC Davis to build student housing. During construction, he stole more than $633,000 of his employees' wages, defrauded the California State Compensation Insurance Fund and committed perjury to conceal his fraud. In all, he caused a total loss of more than $2 million, according to the district attorney's office.
Thompson previously served prison time for insurance fraud and tax evasion.
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