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Granada Hills Construction Firm Owner Arrested

The owner of a Granada Hills construction firm was arrested Thursday on charges of felony workers’ compensation insurance fraud for allegedly not reporting an on-the-job injury that caused an employee’s leg to be amputated. Harry Minassian, 55, of Granada Hills, faces four criminal counts in Los Angeles Superior Court. He is being held in the county jail in lieu of $120,000 bail, according to a release from the California Department of Insurance. Minassian, owner of Pacific Construction, is alleged to have not reported to the State Compensation Insurance Fund an employee’s puncture wound to the foot. The wound became infected and the employee lost his leg below the knee. Minassian is also alleged to have denied workers’ compensation coverage for the employee. The employee was awarded permanent disability after filing a claim with the State Compensation Insurance Fund. The fund then began an investigation that found Minassian owed nearly $12,000 in workers’ compensation insurance premiums, the release said. He also is accused of failing to deduct required payroll taxes and social security for all of his employees. “Employers are responsible for ensuring their employees receive the benefits and treatment they are entitled to when they are injured on the job,” said Commissioner Dave Jones, in a prepared statement. “In this case, the employer was negligent and allowed his employee to suffer unnecessarily and end up with a permanent disability.” If convicted on all counts, Minassian faces a maximum of five years in county jail.

Mark Madler
Mark Madler
Mark R. Madler covers aviation & aerospace, manufacturing, technology, automotive & transportation, media & entertainment and the Antelope Valley. He joined the company in February 2006. Madler previously worked as a reporter for the Burbank Leader. Before that, he was a reporter for the City News Bureau of Chicago and several daily newspapers in the suburban Chicago area. He has a bachelor’s of science degree in journalism from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

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