They paid construction workers under the table in Myrtle Beach area. Now they owe back millions.

David Weissman
·3 min read
2

A dozen owners and operators of construction companies in the Myrtle Beach area were ordered to pay more than $3.4 million in restitution after being caught illegally paying unauthorized foreign workers under the table.

None of the 12, who were connected to seven Horry County companies, were sentenced to jail time, but most will serve several months in home confinement and five years probation, according to a news release from the U.S Department of Justice.

The tax and immigration fraud charges they faced were the result of a multi-year investigation led by the Internal Revenue Service and Homeland Security Investigations on the South Carolina coast. All 12 pleaded guilty.

The owners and operators used unlicensed check cashers to pay cash to their employees, many of whom were in the country illegally, and falsified documentation showing that these employees were covered under workers’ compensation insurance.

“Criminals that exploit U.S. labor and tax laws for profit take advantage of not only the workers, but they also steal revenue from the Government, while also creating an unfair business advantage over their competitors,” Special Agent in Charge Ronnie Martinez, of HSI, said in the release.

Derek Shoemake, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in South Carolina, told The Sun News that investigations into this behavior in the Myrtle Beach area will continue despite these convictions.

The 12 convicted and their sentences include:

  • Daniel Lavoie and Enrique Reyes, both from Duran Masonry, each received five years probation, 18 months home confinement and are ordered to pay $293,402.50 in restitution.

  • Walter Duran and Lisa Sellers, both from Daniel Lavoie Construction Services, each received five years probation. Duran also received 21 months home confinement and is ordered to pay $976,076.08 in restitution, while Sellers received eight months home confinement and $488,038.04 in restitution.

  • Ming Xue Nan and Katherine Welker, both from Extreme Siding, each received five years probation and were ordered to pay $173,712.43 in restitution. Nan received 14 months home confinement, while Welker received eight months.

  • Josafa Neto and Marylany Lavino, both from Master Homes Calabash, each received five years probation and were ordered to pay $209,847.07. Neto also received 18 months home confinement.

  • Saul and Martha Prieto, of Metro Concrete Finishers, each received five years probation, nine months home confinement and were ordered to pay $74,868.50 in restitution.

  • Marcos Caetano De Almeida, of Master Homes Design Center, received five years probation, 21 months home confinement and was ordered to pay $298,816.52 in restitution.

  • Johanna Carpio, of Paint by Numbers, received five years probation, 14 months home confinement and was ordered to pay $131,449.69 in restitution.

One other person charged in relation to this scheme, Adriano De Araujo, is believed to have fled to Brazil, according to online court records.

De Araujo, one of the alleged unlicensed check cashers who helped these construction businesses, was out on bond awaiting trial when he removed his location monitoring unit in December 2020 and left the country, according to a status report filed by former U.S. Attorney Peter McCoy.

De Araujo’s defense attorney did not immediately return a message seeking comment.