BALTIMORE, MD – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced that Jose Walter Marquez Rivera, 43, of Beltsville, Maryland, was sentenced on one count of theft scheme involving a value of $100,000 or more. In the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, Judge Darren S. Johnson sentenced Marquez to 90 days in jail, followed by five years of supervised probation. Marquez was also ordered to pay restitution of $291,333.07.
Marquez, the owner of Congratulations Construction Inc., a Prince George’s County-based company, was found guilty of defrauding workers on two construction projects: the University of Maryland Capital Region Cancer Center and the University of Maryland Field Hockey and Women’s Lacrosse Complex. Despite submitting false certified payroll records to the state indicating that workers were paid the prevailing wage, Marquez instead paid them at much lower rates by using fraudulent payroll names.
Attorney General Brown emphasized the importance of protecting workers’ rights to fair pay, stating, “Hardworking Marylanders deserve to be paid what they are owed.” He commended the collaborative efforts of the Office of the Attorney General and the Maryland Office of the Comptroller in investigating wage theft cases.
The Joint Enforcement Task Force on Workplace Fraud, which includes the Maryland Department of Labor and other state agencies, continues to tackle workplace fraud and wage theft.
Workers who may have been affected by this scheme are encouraged to contact the Attorney General’s office for information on restitution.
