On Thursday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. announced the indictment of Kendis Paul, 45, and his company KEP Construction LLC for stealing approximately $67,000 from 10 former immigrant workers.
The indictment comes after the Worker’s Justice Project (WJP) first brought the case to light early last year. Since then, the WJP has assisted the workers in filing wage theft cases with the New York State Department of Labor (DOL) and has supported them in speaking up publicly against KEP.
WJP also filed wage theft cases against five other construction employers involving 14 additional workers owed over $57,000 in unpaid wages. That includes subcontractor Franklin Chuquiguanga, G&B Construction NY Corp, Ceprine Construction Inc., SK Group Construction, and Francisco Giron Construction LLC.
In April, Documented was the first to expose Francisco Giron for targeting immigrant workers in a wage theft scheme that has lasted for nearly a decade. Giron and the companies associated with his name owe tens of thousands of dollars to workers and the state from as far back as 2015.
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A 2017 DOL investigation found that one company connected to Giron, 4 Giron Construction Inc., stole more than $5,800 in wages from three workers in 2015 and 2016. Another DOL investigation in 2018 found that Giron and 4 Giron Construction Inc. stole $4,900 in wages from a worker in 2015. Despite these cases, Giron continues to operate.
But as thousands of New York workers fall victim to wage theft, Ligia Guallpa, executive director of WJP, hopes the D.A. ‘s indictment, will signal to other unscrupulous employers that the days of rampant wage theft are over.
“DA Bragg’s action sends a clear message to bad employers — in New York City, we don’t tolerate the exploitation of immigrant workers,” she said in a statement. “Unlawful employers who steal wages from their employees will be held accountable.”
In July, WJP launched a Road to Justice caravan where workers from KEP stood in front of their former worksite on the Upper West Side and demanded to be paid the wages they were owed.
“Immigrant workers in New York City know our rights and will not stop fighting for them until justice is served — regardless of where we’re from or when we arrived,” said Maria Rosario, a WJP member and one of the workers employed by KEP Construction, in a statement. “This is a victory for immigrant workers in our fight for justice. We are grateful to DA Bragg for bringing this case forward and we look forward to justice being served.”
According to the D.A., the construction company KEP hired 10 workers, who were non-native English speakers and recent immigrants, to work on drywall and plastering at various job sites. KEP then issued the employees bogus checks that later bounced. They also refused to pay them for overtime, and, in some cases, failed to pay any wages. KEP owes the workers wages ranging from $2,600 to $11,000, totaling approximately $67,275.
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“As alleged, Kendis Paul stole thousands of dollars in wages from employees who dedicated hours of labor to a construction project. The victims repeatedly asked the defendant for their wages, yet, we allege, they were never made whole,” said District Attorney Bragg in a statement. “Workers deserve to be fairly compensated for their labor, and our Office will continue to prosecute those who take advantage of their employees.”
On his part, D.A. Bragg has made a commitment to combating wage theft. In February 2023, his office launched the Worker Protection Unit to investigate and prosecute wage theft and other forms of worker exploitation across Manhattan. It was the first time the Manhattan D.A. created a department solely focused on wage theft.
Since its establishment, the unit has brought 8 prosecutions and recovered and distributed over $1.3 million in wages stolen from more than four dozen workers. Although KEP has been indicted, the case is still ongoing and Bragg urges other KEP employees who have been exploited to come forward. They can contact the D.A. at (646) 712-0298.
To look up if your employer is guilty of wage theft you can use our Wage Theft Monitor.
