Orlando Contractor Quezada Gets 18 Months for Alien Labor Scheme

JACKSONVILLE, FL – Orquidea Quezada, 48, of Orlando, Florida, is headed to federal prison after being sentenced to 18 months for a brazen scheme to defraud workers’ compensation requirements while exploiting undocumented aliens in the construction industry. U.S. District Judge Henry Lee Adams, Jr. handed down the sentence after Quezada pleaded guilty on September 28, 2016, to charges of wire fraud and operating as an unlicensed money transmitter.

The scheme, operated under the business name Orquicely Construction, LLC, involved Quezada securing workers’ compensation policies based on a falsely reported payroll of around $100,000. These policies weren’t for legitimate employees of her company, however. Instead, she “rented” them out to numerous construction subcontractors who were deliberately skirting the law and employing hundreds of workers, a significant portion of whom were undocumented. Florida law *requires* construction businesses to maintain workers’ compensation coverage – failure to do so is a felony, and subcontractors must prove coverage.

Between May 2013 and May 2016, Quezada essentially created a shadow payroll system. Subcontractors paid Orquicely Construction, then Quezada cashed those checks and paid the workers in cash, funneled through work crew leaders. She pocketed a cool five percent of every check as her cut. The scale of the operation is staggering: a total of approximately $17.4 million flowed through Quezada’s company, all while avoiding federal and state taxes like Medicare and Social Security. This allowed the subcontractors to both avoid taxes and conceal their illegal employment of undocumented workers.

The feds didn’t just come for jail time. Judge Adams ordered Quezada to forfeit $136,886 in cash seized at her arrest, an additional $60,178.91 from her bank accounts, and even her 2013 Honda Accord, valued at $11,500. A money judgment of $584,435.09 was also entered against her, representing the profits from the criminal enterprise, minus what’s already been seized. AIG Insurance will also receive $18,603.24 in restitution.

“This sentencing is the result of HSI’s combined investigative expertise in financial crimes and worksite enforcement,” stated Susan L. McCormick, special agent in charge of HSI Tampa. “HSI special agents will continue to identify, disrupt, and eliminate the criminal schemes used to exploit our financial industry and to garner profit from the labor of undocumented aliens.” The investigation was a joint effort, with support from the Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Investigative & Forensic Services.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater underscored the danger of this kind of fraud. “Employers who attempt to evade the law and fail to provide workers’ compensation coverage leave their employees vulnerable to extraordinary costs in the event of an on-the-job injury,” Atwater said. “These bad actors can skew the market, making it difficult for legitimate businesses to compete. We will continue to work with our federal and local partners to hold these criminals accountable.”