SAN FRANCISCO – On May 30, 2017, detectives with the California Department of Insurance arrested Gina Marie Gregori, 55, of Lafayette, for allegedly underreporting payroll and ripping off insurers to the tune of $32 million. Gregori was charged with 19 felony counts and is being held on $5,235,000 bail at the San Francisco County Jail.

According to Department of Insurance detectives, during a seven-year period, Gregori, owner of GMG Janitorial, GMG Billings, and Apex Janitorial Solutions, allegedly falsified documents and underreported payroll to her workers’ compensation insurance company. The department’s investigation revealed Gregori was keeping two sets of books, using a payroll processing service to report to the Employment Development Department and pay her employees, and keeping a fraudulent set of books that she provided to insurers and insurance auditors, which showed a significantly lower payroll amount.

“People often make the mistake of thinking insurance fraud is a victimless crime-it is not,” said Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. “When business owners cheat the system by operating in the underground economy, they create an unfair advantage that puts legitimate business at risk.”

“The number of cases CDI detectives investigate has to be astronomical,” said California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) President Alan Barcelona.  “There is just a tremendous number of unscrupulous individuals who are skirting the law and committing insurance fraud.  It hurts all of us and it works against our economy.”

GMG is a large janitorial company operating throughout the Bay area and Southern California, employing more than 200 employees from July 2009 through December 2016.

The investigation was led by the Department of Insurance with assistance from the San Francisco County District Attorney’s Office, which is also prosecuting the case.