A Wrentham contractor has pleaded guilty to defrauding the government in a complex job scheme.
Wael Isreb, 55, owned Taunton Forms, a now-defunct concrete construction company based in Lakeville, Mass. Aluisio Dasilva, 67, of Hudson, was also implicated.
Both men pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and making false statements.
Taunton Forms was subcontracted to renovate the John W. McCormack Post Office and Courthouse in Boston., Mass
"Beginning in December 2007, however, Isreb, DaSilva and others conspired to pay Taunton Forms workers less than the prevailing wage while certifying ... that Taunton Forms was, in fact, paying the prevailing wage," U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz said in a statement. "As part of the conspiracy, the defendants agreed to report, falsely, to the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) that DaSilva and other workers had been laid off. That permitted the workers to offset their lower wages with unemployment benefits while they worked on the McCormack Building project and other projects.
"The conspiracy also permitted Taunton Forms to avoid making fringe benefit payments to certain labor union benefit plans that it was required to pay pursuant to its applicable collective bargaining agreements. Taunton Forms also failed to withhold applicable payroll taxes."
Isreb and Dasilva are scheduled to be sentenced in July.
Read more
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.