Riverside DA files fraud charges

​The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office announced that it charged three people with orchestrating a misclassification scheme that resulted in underpaying a half-million dollars in premiums to two insurance companies.
Prosecutors allege Joanne Trealoff, 61, misclassified between 15% and 20% of her 200 employees at Eclipse Recreational Vehicles Inc., a manufacturer of travel trailers and toy haulers located in Riverside. They also say that between 2012 and 2016, she failed to report at least 50 injuries. The scheme reportedly resulted in losses of more than $540,000 for Everest National Insurance Co. and Security National Insurance Co.
David Armando Torres, 63, the owner of workers’ compensation consulting firm Employer Support Group, is accused of helping misclassify some of the workers and hiding the injuries from carriers. Sylvia Leon, 44, an employee at Employer Support Group, is accused of participating in the scheme as well.
Trealoff pleaded not guilty to 52 felony counts during an initial appearance on Wednesday.
The District Attorney’s Office said that while arrest warrants have been issued for Torres and Leon, who each face 51 felony counts, neither have been taken into custody.