Merrimack Valley

Methuen business owner charged with falsifiying payroll and hiring illegal workers

By Stephanie Chelf
Staff writer
Published: March 15, 2008

BOSTON — The owner of a Methuen-based company is facing federal charges of illegally paying workers to avoid paying taxes.

Albania Deleon, 38, of 1 Sillen Drive, Salem, N.H., and owner of Environmental Compliance Training School, is already facing charges of giving out bogus asbestos training certifications.

She will be arraigned Tuesday in federal court on the new charges of conspiracy, making false statements, mail fraud and procuring false tax returns.

According to court records, Deleon used fake Social Security numbers to hire illegal workers and set up two separate payrolls to avoid paying taxes. Some employees were paid and taxed on one payroll.

But the bulk of her workers were paid illegally by check with no taxes paid. Those workers were told to cash their checks at a Lawrence liquor store because the store "would not scrutinize the identification documents of persons cashing checks," according to court documents.

"Deleon concealed from her accountants, and subsequently from the IRS, the true size of her payroll in order to reduce her tax payments," the indictment states. Deleon allegedly defrauded the government of more than $800,000 in tax payments from 2001 to 2005.

Deleon was first arrested in the summer of 2007 for awarding false asbestos training certifications.

The school handed out certificates to people who had not taken the 32-hour course required to work with asbestos, according to the U.S. Attorney's indictment. To cover up the practice, Deleon allegedly had applicants sign final exam answer sheets which had already been completed and graded.

An undercover officer and a cooperating witness said Deleon offered to provide a certificate "fast" for $400. Customers who paid $400 walked out of her office with a forged certificate and fake exam.

Many of the untrained certificate holders were believed to have been sent to work for Methuen Staffing, another of Deleon's companies, this one specializing in asbestos removal.

Deleon is accused of filing false tax returns and avoided paying taxes on her employees earnings, according to the court complaint. Deleon is also accused of defrauding worker's compensation insurers by only reporting a portion of her workers.

"... Deleon knew that many of her employees were kept on the second payroll, which Deleon and office employees acting on her behalf, omitted to tell the insurance auditors," the indictment states. "As a result, Methuen Staffing paid lower insurance premiums then it was actually required to pay."