A Massachusetts construction firm owner fraudulently misclassified subcontractors as siding workers or painters when they were performing riskier roofi
ng work in order to avoid paying higher workers’ compensation premiums, according to the Massachusetts attorney general’s office (AGO).
Massachusetts officials said that Edwin Santiago Bueno of Milford was indicted by a Worcester grand jury. He is scheduled to be arraigned in the Worcester Superior Court on July 14, 2026.
By misclassifying his workers between June 2020 and May 2023, the owner allegedly evade
d approximately $20,194 in workers’ compensation premiums owed to Ace American Insurance Co., which is administered by Travelers Insurance Co.
According to the officials, Bueno owned and operated ESB Construction, Inc., a Milf
ord-based construction company. As the owner, Bueno was responsible for providing workers’ compensation insurance for all employees and uninsured subcontractors.
Upon discovering Bueno’s misclassification, Travelers notified the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts (IFB), which confirmed that ESB had been performin
g roofing work while Bueno classified his subcontractors under other, less expensive categories.
Bueno faces four counts of workers’ compensation insurance fraud and one count of larceny over $1,200.
All of the charges are allegations, and Bueno’s is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The 2026 hurricane season may turn out to be a quiet one, as predicted by long-range forecasts this year. But that only means that businesses should have
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more time to review and rehearse their emergency plans before the next storm comes calling.
That was the message stressed Tuesday by safety leaders at some of Florida’s most critical—and m
ost vulnerable—corporations: Florida Power & Light, Tampa General Hospital, and Tampa Electric Co.
“Test those plans. They look great on paper and may check all the boxes, but if you’re not testing
hem, they’re likely not going to work out,” said Erinn Skiba, senior director of public safety for Tampa General.
