BALTIMORE, MD—A former construction field superintendent in Baltimore pleaded guilty and was sentenced for his role in a felony wage-theft scheme that defrauded workers on two University of Maryland construction projects, state Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced this week.
Fredy Arellano, 45, of York, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in Baltimore City Circuit Court to one count of felony theft scheme between $25,000 and $100,000. The investigation found that Arellano and an associate stole from construction workers by paying them substantially less than the state-required prevailing wage.
Arellano, who worked as the field superintendent for a Baltimore-based company, was sentenced to five years of incarceration, with all but 90 days suspended. He will serve the 90 days on home detention, followed by three years of supervised probation.
Prior to his guilty plea, Arellano paid full restitution of $63,157.
“This case shows that we will prosecute employers when they steal wages from their employees, taking food off the table for Maryland families,” Attorney General Brown said. “Our Office will always fight for Maryland workers to get paid every dollar that they’ve earned.”
The charges stem from work on two Prince George’s County projects: the University of Maryland Capital Region Cancer Center and the University of Maryland Field Hockey and Women’s Lacrosse Complex. On both projects, employers were required to pay workers the prevailing wage, a standard rate set by the Commissioner of Labor and Industry for public works.
The Attorney General’s investigation revealed that certified payroll records submitted to the state falsely claimed workers were paid the prevailing wage. Instead, Arellano and the owner of subcontractor Congratulations Construction Inc. used various methods, including false payroll names, to steal the difference in wages.
Arellano’s share of the stolen wages was determined to be $63,157.
The owner of Congratulations Construction Inc., Jose Walter Marquez Rivera, was sentenced in a related case last year.
The Attorney General’s Office has invited any worker for Congratulations Construction Inc. on the two University of Maryland projects to contact the office at [email protected] regarding potential restitution.
Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels
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