Owners of Union City security firm charged with wage theft, fraud
UNION CITY - Owners of a Union City firm have been charged with "egregious" wage theft affecting 87 employees owed hundreds of thousands of dollars, the Alameda County District Attorney's Office alleged Friday.
Ferooz Nangeyali and Alejandra Nangeyali own Alfa Private Security Services and allegedly failed to properly pay their workers for regular and overtime hours. Over $800,000 of wages were unpaid allegedly.
County prosecutors began an investigation in December 2021. That investigation also revealed that Ferooz Nangeyali allegedly possessed privately made or homemade guns, commonly known as ghost guns.
Ferooz Nangeyali also allegedly gave guns to some employees who did not have a license to carry one.
Some employees were allegedly given guns and were not trained to use them, employees reported to prosecutors.
"The behavior of these owners who cheated workers out of their fair and proper wages is completely unacceptable," said District Attorney Pamela Price in a statement. "These workers are owed their rightful wages."
Ferooz Nangeyali and Alejandra Nangeyali also allegedly defrauded their worker's compensation carrier out of $88,000, prosecutors said.
The alleged fraud was uncovered when the insurance carrier performed a forensic audit based on information obtained in the investigation, prosecutors said.
Price said her office "will keep a watchful eye on this type of wage theft and insurance fraud to ensure businesses are not taking unfair advantage over workers."
Price believes the case is especially troublesome because the number of ghost guns on the streets of Alameda County has been growing. Price wants to take those guns off the streets.
Ghost guns have no serial numbers, making it difficult if not impossible for police to find the owner.
"When workers are not properly paid and cheated out of their hard-earned wages, it causes a damaging domino effect that impacts workers and all levels of our economy," said California Labor Commissioner Lilia Garcia-Brower in a statement.
"Unscrupulous employers who fail to pay workers properly do so not only to dodge obligations but to gain an unfair business advantage over law abiding employers," Garcia-Brower said.
Ferooz Nangeyali faces nine felony charges including wage theft, insurance fraud, possession of an assault weapon, and among others, possession of a short barrel rifle.
Alejandra Nangeyali is facing five felony charges including wage theft and insurance fraud.
Ferooz Nangeyali and Alejandra Nangeyali are scheduled to be in court again Feb. 14 to enter a plea.
Attempts to get a comment on behalf of the owners were unsuccessful late Friday afternoon.