SANTA CRUZ - The owner of the Brookdale  Inn and Spa, Sanjiv Kakkar, 52, has been sentenced to a year in jail and three years probation for insurance fraud.  Kakkar pleaded no contest to  two felony counts including insurance premium fraud and failure to maintain workers' compensation insurance. 

Detectives  with the California Department of Insurance (CDI)  and Santa Cruz District Attorney's Office began looking into this case four years ago when an employee injured on the job, reported his medical bills were not being paid.

"This lengthy investigation demonstrates the determination to put a stop to insurance fraud," said Alan Barcelona, president of the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA).  CSLEA represents CDI detectives along with nearly 7,000 other law enforcement, public safety and consumer protection professional who work for the State of California.  "These detectives work year round to bring to justice those who skip out on insurance or falsify information to pay less."

In addition to his jail sentence, Kakkar has paid restitution of over $52,000 toward unpaid insurance premiums.

Kakkar was also fined $10,000 for violating health and safety codes concerning air-borne asbestos.  Just days before a Valentine's Day banquet for seniors was held, air-borne asbestos was reported to be present in the Brookdale dining room.  The Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District issued multiple violations and Kakkar was ordered not to have the banquet, the order was ignored and two tour busses of seniors attended the Valentine's Day event.