A California roofer was sentenced to a year in prison and was ordered to pay restitution to the California State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF) for underreporting payroll and failing to pay workers’ comp insurance premiums.

District Attorney Gregory D. Totten sentenced Paul Ronald Payne of Simi Valley to 365 days in the Ventura County jail and ordered him to pay $1,058,058 in restitution. He operated a roofing and painting business called Paul Payne Roofing. The business involved hiring and maintaining a crew of employees to work roofing and painting jobs. Between 2012 and 2016 he submitted payroll reports to SCIF that said he did not have any employees, so he paid significantly less in work comp premiums. When one of his employees reported a traumatic injury in 2016 SCIF found out that Payne was not truthfully reporting payroll.

In addition to his time in prison he was placed on six years of formal probation. He must make monthly restitution payments and already paid $25,000 prior to his sentencing.

Read the press release from the Ventura County District Attorney.