PROVIDENCE – Three Rhode Island contractors have been charged with stealing more than $64,000 in wages from 14 workers on a Woonsocket school project, the R.I. Attorney General’s Office said on Tuesday.
Eduardo Benitez, 33, of Woonsocket, owner of Benitez Y Rojas Drywall, Empire Drywall, and New Generation Drywall; Teresa Rojas, 36, of Pawtucket, affiliated with Empire Drywall; and Yuliana Gonzalez, 25, of Providence, affiliated with New Generation Drywall, are each accused of failing to pay prevailing wage to workers at rates of more than $50 per hour for work they performed during the construction and renovation of RISE Prep Mayoral Academy between 2018 and 2019. During that time, BYR, Empire, and New Gen drywall companies performed work as subcontractors under Case Construction Co., the general contractor of the project.
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The defendants are accused of paying workers between $20 and $25 per hour and pocketing the difference. It is alleged that the defendants used the diverted $64,000 for their own personal use and submitted false certified payroll documents to the state, according to court records.
Four contractors in total have been charged with wage theft and related charges from work at the Woonsocket school job site. In April, Marcos Mutz, owner of the now-defunct M. Mutz Construction, is accused of failing to fully pay 12 former workers for work they performed at the site.
“While we were able to fashion a felony prosecution in this case, the fact remains that wage theft under any circumstances must become a felony under Rhode Island law,” R.I. Attorney General Peter F. Neronha said in a statement. “Working men and women in Rhode Island deserve justice. Until Rhode Island law reflects the seriousness of wage theft, we will continue to see cases like this one. Legitimate businesses will also continue to be at a competitive disadvantage. And Rhode Island taxpayers will continue to lose.”
Benitez was charged with three counts of unlawful appropriation of over $1,000, three counts of failure to pay wages, two counts of conspiracy to unlawfully appropriate money, and one count of providing a false document to a public official. Rojas was charged with one count of unlawful appropriation of over $1,000, one count of conspiracy to unlawfully appropriate money, and one count of providing a false document to a public official. Gonzalez faces one count of unlawful appropriation of over $1,000, one count of conspiracy to unlawfully appropriate money, and one count of providing a false document to a public official.
All three defendants are scheduled for pretrial conferences on Oct. 25 in Providence County Superior Court.
