What to Know
- A New York City-based house cleaning company and its CEO pleaded guilty to stealing wages from employees, according to prosecutors.
- Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said MPStar Pros Chief Executive Officer Christian Perez, 37, of Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills, pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and was sentenced to a conditional discharge. His housecleaning company, MPStar Pros, also pleaded guilty to a felony, scheme to defraud, and as part of the plea must make full restitution to the workers.
- According to Katz, both withheld more than $54,000 from employees between 2020 and 2022. Additionally, MPStar Pros must also pay $10,000. This amount will be held in escrow by the Queens District Attorney’s office in the event additional victims are identified.
A New York City-based house cleaning company and its CEO pleaded guilty to stealing wages from employees, according to prosecutors.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said MPStar Pros Chief Executive Officer Christian Perez, 37, of Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills, pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and was sentenced to a conditional discharge. His housecleaning company, MPStar Pros, also pleaded guilty to a felony, scheme to defraud, and as part of the plea must make full restitution to the workers.
According to Katz, both withheld more than $54,000 from employees between 2020 and 2022. Additionally, MPStar Pros must also pay $10,000. This amount will be held in escrow by the Queens District Attorney’s office in the event additional victims are identified.
As part of the deal they have to make full restitution to the 23 victims.
According to the charges, MPStar Pros advertised via social media sites for persons to clean residential apartments, including short-term apartment rental operators. Many of the victims were asked to work during the height of the COVID pandemic. However, when the workers completed their jobs, the company did not pay them their wages.
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“At the height of the pandemic, these workers risked their lives to support their families only to fall victim to a gutless scam," Katza said. "I created a worker protection bureau to punish this very kind of shameless exploitation. An honest day’s work deserves and honest day’s pay and that is what we made sure will be the case for these workers.”
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Meanwhile, Roberta Reardon, the commissioner of the New York State Department of Labor, said that "any employer who steals from their workers will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law in New York State.”
