Business owner allegedly referred clients to self in Fresno fraud case, prosecutors say
A Fresno business owner faces nearly a dozen counts of fraud related to his firm’s training of injured workers, but his attorney said Tuesday his client was not part of any purposeful wrongdoing.
Paul Steve Ramirez, 59, faces 11 counts of false or fraudulent claims related to P. Steve Ramirez Vocational Training Centers, a faith-based educational institution that trains workers who have been injured, the California Department of Insurance said.
Prosecutors allege a conflict of interest in which Ramirez used a vocational counseling center he owns to refer clients to his own educational center to maximize his billing, according to a news release.
The institution gets a portion of its funding from the Supplemental Job Displacement Benefit, a state funded benefit that pays out up to $6,000 per person trained.
Prosecutors allege fraud related to 37 students of about $200,000 from March 2017 to March 2022.
Attorney Tony Capozzi said Tuesday his client, Ramirez, never willfully broke the law. Ramirez has run an upstanding business and benefited those on workers compensation, he said.
“I’m hopeful that we can reach an agreement with the District Attorney’s Office, and I think we will,” Capozzi said.
Ramirez was arraigned Oct. 17 in the case being prosecuted by the Fresno District Attorney’s Office. The office does not comment on ongoing litigation, a spokesperson said on Tuesday.
