Contractor Hiring Illegal Aliens May Get $1M Fine and 10 Years
Was it worth it? That is the question Daron Keith Stalvey, a Horry County contractor is probably asking himself after pleading guilty to hiring illegal immigrants and tax evasion. Stalvey Construction Company, Inc. and some other small businesses of his were used to conceal earned income. Stalvey billed jobs in the name of his other entities and then claimed Stalvey Construction expenses as tax deductions.
A search was done in May of 2007, where Company records showed that wages were reported for legal workers. However, nothing was reported for the illegal workers nor did Stalvey ask for or keep records of personal identification. This case was investigated by the IRS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which resulted in the arrest and deportation of 13 illegal immigrants.
Source: Myrtle Beach Sun News
I specialize in contractors insurance in California for 10 years and I see contractors who employ illegal workers all the time. The contractors know it is illegal. However, they say that they would not be able to stay in business if they had to pay payroll taxes and workers compensation premium on all their workers. I have heard from many contractors over the years that say the competition for jobs forces them to lower the price to a point where they cannot pay all the expenses that go along with having employees.
I imagin that now that the economy is worsening and competition getting tuffer the situation with illegal workers with likely worsen as well.
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