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New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced on Wednesday that 67-year-old Arthur Anyah, the owner of Mical Home Health Care Agency, Inc. in Peekskill, has been sentenced to one year in jail after defrauding 67 employees out of more than $135,000 in wages after pleading guilty last July.
According to Schneiderman, Anyah induced health care workers to provide home health care services to the agency’s clients without pay, as well as falsifying business records, failing to pay wages, and defrauding the state unemployment insurance contribution system.
Schneiderman said that between December 2012 and June 2015, Anyah hired caregivers to assist patients with basic daily needs such as getting dressed, bathing and preparing meals. An investigation conducted by the Attorney General’s Office; however, determined that Anyah failed to pay those workers and created false tax documents such as W-2 forms and reported wages to the state never paid to the employees.
Anyah was ordered by the judge to pay full restitution in the amount of $135,161.79 in back wages owed to his employees. He’s also been ordered to pay more than $66,000 in state unemployment insurance fraud contributions.
“New Yorkers employed in the home health care industry are among our most vulnerable workers, often receiving wages barely above the state’s minimum. It’s unconscionable that an employer would defraud them out of the pay they earned,” Schneiderman said in a statement. “My office is dedicated to protecting workers against wage theft and to ensuring that employers contribute to the state unemployment insurance fund, which provides basic protections for all employees.”
“New York will continue to stand with all workers to ensure they are not cheated out of their wages,” New York State Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon added. "Under Gov. Cuomo's leadership, we will work tirelessly to root out bad actors and return stolen wages to hard-working men and women.”
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