Two former Queens residents, now living in North Carolina, are facing severe legal consequences after being indicted for allegedly operating a wage theft scheme through their cleaning companies. Christian Perez, 39, and his wife Ines Perez Miranda, 42, are charged alongside their businesses, Cleaning Pass LLC and Cleaning Pass Set It and Forget It LLC, with multiple counts including grand larceny and failure to pay wages in accordance with labor law, as reported by the Queens District Attorney's Office.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz highlighted her bureau's dedication to prosecuting exploitative business owners and ensuring restitution for workers, stating, "As alleged, this married couple operated two cleaning companies and failed to pay hard-working employees thousands of dollars." The accused enticed cleaners with prompt payment promises and reimbursement for supplies, yet allegedly employed tactics to withhold wages; they are reported to have issued checks with future dates, checks from accounts with insufficient funds or in some cases, entirely neglected to pay the workers and even demanded employees to immediately leave their work locations without compensation, this has led to unfortunate circumstances where one worker is allegedly owed more than $3,000, while two others are each owed in excess of $1,000, and a fourth is due more than $500, according to the Queens DA's Office.
Roberta Reardon, New York State Commissioner of Labor, reinforced the gravity of the situation, asserting, "This indictment sends a clear message that these injustices will not be tolerated in New York State. Harm to one is harm to us all." She commended the collaboration in ensuring fair compensation for employees. The victims sent multiple communications to the defendants, requesting the wages they earned and expenses reimbursement, highlighting the persistent struggle for their rightful earnings, as per the Queens DA's Office.
Ines Perez Miranda has been arranged and is expected to appear in court again on Saturday, as ordered by Queens Supreme Court Justice Gary Miret. Meanwhile, Christian Perez is awaiting extradition to New York, should they be found guilty, both face up to seven years in prison. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Christina Hanophy with the involvement of various detectives and investigators, who have diligently worked to bring to light the plight of the affected workers and seek justice on their behalf.
