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July 17, 2024 ORLANDO, Fla. (CBS12) — An Orlando woman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud after investigators uncovered a nearly $8 million scheme. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Wednesday, Wendy Cudemo-Gamez registered a construction company she owned with the state. The company claimed to provide construction services and labor to contractors. However, according to the plea agreement, Cudemo-Gamez also used the company to engage in a scheme to defraud worker's compensation insurance providers. The plea agreement details that Cudemo-Gamez intentionally falsified information on insurance applications. She claimed her company had a limited payroll and a small number of employees working on construction sites, the DOJ said. Additionally, she made false claims through wire communications, assuring contractors that their workers had full worker's compensation coverage. In reality, Cudemo-Gamez’s company received and cashed more than $7.8 million in checks from construction contractors, the DOJ stated. The payroll figures that Cudemo-Gamez reported far exceeded the actual limited payroll. As a consequence, these workers, employed by Cudemo-Gamez lacked proper worker's compensation coverage, the release stated. The scheme also resulted in lost revenue for insurance companies as they were unaware of the actual number of workers requiring coverage. The DOJ stated that Cudemo-Gamez's fraudulent actions extended beyond insurance. Her company allegedly avoided ensuring workers were legally authorized to work in the United States and that required state and federal payroll taxes were paid. The contractors who utilized these workers' services were also able to evade these responsibilities. While no sentencing date has been set, the DOJ says the 47-year-old faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

Throughout the world countless governing bodies and agencies as well as standards, regulations and policies have been established specifically with the goal of machine safety. Stringent safety standards mean that today’s machines are designed with greater safeguards for both the operator and process. However, the actual process of safeguarding may still raise the same questions to some as they have 20 years ago. What needs to be guarded, to what degree and with what type of device? The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) under the United States Department of Labor is responsible for setting forth polices to ensure safe working conditions which include machine safety as described in 1910 Subpart O - Machinery and Machine Guarding. The General Duty clause issued under the OSHA Act of 1970 states that each employer is responsible for supplying a workplace which is “free from hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm”. The options to provide such a workplace are endless and knowing where to begin the process can be over- whelming. There are a few regulations that call out requirements for specific machinery such as 1910.213 for woodworking machinery or 1910.217 for mechanical power presses, but these requirements are a bit abstract and leave room for interpretation. Since the process to change or update regulations to a more current and clear set of documents can be long and arduous, OSHA suggests the use of the most current and relevant industry consensus standards be followed when needed in an effort to be sure employers are well informed when working to pro- vide a safe workplace. For example ANSI RIA15.06 is a current and relevant industry standard which is used to safeguard robot and robotic cell application. Another example is NFPA 79 which is used to ensure proper wiring practices are used. It is clear that it is a requirement by law to provide a safe working environment. In order to provide safe working conditions we first need to know what is to be safeguarded, thus the first step in safeguarding is to identify the hazards or the risks associated with the machine. Identifying these risks is also one of the first steps in the risk analysis process. These risks include, but are not limited to: mechanical hazards such as rotating or sharp parts; electrical hazards such as live parts; radiation; ergonomic, etc. ISO 12100 Safety of Machinery — Risk Assessment is a current and relevant industry consensus standard which can be used as a guide to help identify machine hazards. Read more