Los Angeles, CA, November 14, 2006--The president and vice president of a Chatsworth-based Cover-All Inc, pleaded not guilty Monday to charges that they bilked the state's workers' compensation fund out of nearly $11 million in premiums.
Gad "Gadi" Leshem, president of Cover-All Inc., and company vice president Zeev Golan are free on $100,000 bail pending their next court appearance Feb. 8.
Also pleading not guilty were Golan's wife, Irit, who served as the company's corporate secretary and payroll supervisor, along with the company itself.
The defendants are accused of conspiring to under-report the true amount of the company's payroll by more than $31.8 million, which resulted in its workers' compensation premiums being reduced by more than $10.9 million between September 2001 and April 2006, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Leshem and the Golans are each charged with four counts of insurance fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit insurance fraud -- all felonies.
The company is charged with four counts of insurance fraud.
Cover-All Inc. is in the business of installing carpeting and flooring as a subcontractor for businesses such as Home Depot, and has 50 offices in 17 states, according to the District Attorney's Office.
The case stemmed from a probe conducted by the State Compensation Insurance Fund's Special Investigation Unit.
