Fresno trucking company charged in $2.5 million scheme to defraud workers comp insurance

A Fresno couple and their adult daughter were arraigned in court in Monday for allegedly under-reporting more than $2.5 million in employee payroll for their business.

Karamjit Nijjar, 57; his wife, Rajinder Kaur Nijjar, 55; and their daughter, Mandip Nijjar, 31; were charged with four felony counts each for their involvement in the scheme, which involved the couple’s company Renteria Trucking.

Mandip Nijjar is an employee of the company, according to a statement from the California Department of Insurance.

The department originally received a tip that an employee had been denied their workers’ compensation benefits.

While investigating that case, members of the Central Valley Workers’ Compensation Fraud Task Force found that Renteria Trucking reported approximately $2,475,000 in employee payroll during routine payroll audits. But a forensic audit revealed that the company actually had over $5 million in employee payroll for the same time period, according to the statement.

The difference in the unreported payroll identified — just over $2.5 million — resulted in a reduction of workers’ compensation insurance premiums paid by the company. In all, the company had $352,913 in premiums owed to the State Compensation Insurance Fund, the statement said.

All three pleaded not guilty to the charges. They are scheduled to be back in court on Nov. 15.