On July 31, home contractor Artemio Fuerte, 38, appeared at the New Rochelle City Court in New York’s Westchester County.
According to County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah, Fuerte owned and operated Fuerte Construction LLC, a company that stole $31,500 from at least eight immigrant workers he employed between 2020 and 2023. As part of his plea agreement with prosecutors, Fuerte was sentenced to eight misdemeanor counts of wage theft.
“Not paying workers for months on end is a crime and not a business model,” Rocah said in a statement after the verdict was announced. “We will continue to hold employers who commit wage theft accountable and that includes securing from them the full amount of back pay owed to workers.”
Fuerte was sentenced to three years probation, ordered to pay a $12,000 fine, and required to pay full restitution of $31,583 to eight of his victims before his sentencing. However, despite his conviction, he can continue operating his contracting business.
Fuerte Construction LLC, which was implicated in wage theft, was registered with the state in 2021 and is currently listed as active, according to the New York Department of State Division of Corporations. In February 2023, Fuerte successfully registered his latest company, Fuerte Construction Services LLC, which also remains active.
The Westchester DA’s Office of Criminal Investigators Unit first arrested Fuerte on May 23, 2022, for failing to pay four workers he employed with Fuerte Construction LLC a total of $21,150. He was again arrested on Oct. 14, 2022, for failing to pay two additional Fuerte Construction LLC employees a total of $2,370. This year, he was arrested again on Jan. 30 for failing to pay two more workers a total of $8,063.
Fuerte could not be reached for comment on this story.
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According to Jin Whang, director of Public Affairs and Communications for the Westchester DA’s Office, although Fuerte has multiple arrests and convictions, the state law cannot prevent Fuerte from operating as a contractor.
“The sentence does not include preventing someone from making a living,” Whang said. “And, there is no state law that prohibits private individuals, contractors convicted of labor crimes from operating in construction.”
She added that if Fuerte committed any crimes during his probation, a procedural hearing would take place to determine the consequences. Otherwise, he could continue to run his business.
A joint investigation from Documented and ProPublica confirms this, noting that New York State bans companies from receiving public works contracts only after they have been shown to knowingly violate wage laws on multiple occasions. However, while a company committing wage theft could be banned from receiving public contracts, there is no current law in the state that revokes a contractor’s business license for committing wage theft, nor a law that bars anyone who has been convicted of wage theft from continuing to operate.
Also Read: In New York, Wage Theft Violators Get Millions in Government Contracts
A bill introduced by New York State Senator Jessica Ramos in 2023 would hope to end this practice and allow the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance to suspend a company’s ability to do business in the state if it’s found to have stolen wages exceeding $1,000. The bill is currently in committee.
Still, Jackeline Agudelo, executive director of United Community Center of Westchester, a worker’s center that first brought Fuerte’s exploitation of day laborers to light, is satisfied that Fuerte has been made to pay for his crimes.
“So the good thing is that we brought him to justice and that justice was done for our workers,” she said. “Now there are some workers that still haven’t been paid, but he has been convicted, and of course, that’s a good thing for us.”
United Community Center of Westchester has sounded the alarm amongst day laborers across New Rochelle, making them aware of Fuerte’s unscrupulous reputation.
A poster of his face has circulated amongst day laborer gathering sites warning them to avoid him.
Agudelo suspects that with his conviction Fuerte may be less inclined to continue stealing wages from workers, but they are not taking any chances and continue to caution workers. The media attention has helped.
“Everyone knows him,” she said, “and I think he’s famous now.”
