Press Release

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that the office has returned $28,000 in stolen wages to 30 former employees of a cleaning company owner who was convicted earlier this year of failing to pay workers. Christian Perez, who owned cleaning companies that he ran with his wife, Ines Perez Miranda, was ordered to pay restitution when he was sentenced to five years of probation in April. Perez and his wife are also banned from incorporating new companies in New York for five years.

District Attorney Katz said: “When someone steals a person’s paycheck, they are also stealing their dignity. Thanks to an investigation by my Housing, Worker, and Consumer Protection Bureau we were able to put a stop to the exploitation perpetrated by these defendants and get restitution for their victims. I thank our partners at the New York State Department of Labor and the Worker’s Justice Project for their assistance in this case. If you have been a victim of wage theft, please contact my office at 718-286-6673.”

New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said: “I applaud the Queens County District Attorney’s Office and Worker’s Justice Project for fighting to ensure these workers receive the money they are owed. Harm to one is harm to us all, and our agency will continue to partner with law enforcement and worker advocacy groups to investigate employers who attempt to cheat their employees out of the pay they have rightfully earned.”

Alejo Grajales, Worker’s Rights Organizer and Case Manager, Worker’s Justice Project, said: “This victory was achieved because of the courage and collective organizing of the workers in this case, who came together to fight for their rights. Worker’s Justice Project is deeply grateful for the partnership and support of the Queens District Attorney’s Office and the New York State Department of Labor. This shows how the collective power of workers, in collaboration with local government, can ensure that justice is served. For many of these workers, this was never only about money. It was about dignity, respect, and the emotional and financial harm caused when people work hard and are denied the wages they rightfully earned. This case also sends a strong message: wage theft has consequences, and workers are not alone. We hope this outcome serves as an important precedent that encourages more workers to speak up – and a reminder to employers that labor exploitation will not be tolerated.”

Perez, 40, pleaded guilty on February 26 to scheme to defraud in the first degree, grand larceny in the third degree and failure to pay wages in accordance with the labor law. He was sentenced in April before Queens Supreme Court Justice Peter Vallone Jr. to five years’ probation in addition to making restitution of over $28,000. His wife, Ines Perez Miranda, 42, also pleaded guilty to failure to pay wages in accordance with the labor law and was sentenced to a conditional discharge on February 25. The defendants were originally from Queens.

The investigation was conducted by Assistant District Attorney Christina Hanophy, Senior Deputy Chief in the Housing, Worker, and Consumer Protection Bureau, with the assistance of former Queens County District Attorney Detective Investigator Noman Ahmad, and QDA Detective Thomas Kaup and Investigative Accountant Vivian Tunnicliff of the District Attorney’s Financial Frauds Bureau. The Queens County District Attorney’s Office thanks Senior Labor Standards Investigator Jorge Gordillo Alvarado of the New York State Department of Labor, Division of Labor Standards, under the supervision of Chief Labor Standards Investigator Frank King for their valuable assistance.

Senior Deputy Chief Hanophy prosecuted the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney William Jorgenson, Housing, Worker, and Consumer Protection Bureau Chief, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Joseph T. Conley III.