A retired California police officer has been sentenced to three years in jail for using his security business to commit millions of dollars in insurance fraud, money laundering, tax evasion and worker exploitation, according to the Santa Clara County district attorney.
In January, Robert Foster, 48, was convicted of a slew of felony fraud charges, including conspiring to commit $1.13 million in insurance fraud and $18 million in money laundering to hide it. Foster will also serve two years of mandatory supervision following his jail sentence, the district attorney’s office said.
Prior to his sentencing, Foster paid restitution of $1.3 million to Everest National Insurance and the California Employment Development Department. There was also a general order of restitution for the purpose of paying exploited workers.
“No one is above accountability for illegally trying to make a profit on the backs (and injured bodies) of their workers,” Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said.
Foster owns Atlas Private Security (now Genesis Private Security) with his wife, Mikaila Foster, who pleaded no contest to the same charges. Mikaila Foster will be sentenced to one year in jail and five years of probation on April 29th, according to the district attorney’s office. The Fosters owned the business without the knowledge of the San Jose Police Department.
According to the district attorney’s office, the Fosters illegally reduced their workers’ compensation insurance premiums and takes by reporting false payrolls, underreporting employee headcount, paying employees off the books, and underreporting employee injuries. They also failed to pay employees overtime and discouraged their employees from reporting on-the-job injuries and wage theft.
Investigators also found that the fosters hid millions of dollars in payroll through a complex scheme involving subcontractors. Employees were paid through a different security company, Defense Protection Group (DPG), which had no knowledge of the employees’ hours, wages or schedules. DPG simply funneled money from the Fosters’ company to the employees so the Fosters could avoid paying accurate taxes, workers’ compensation insurance and overtime wages, the district attorney’s office said.
