Press Release

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that married couple Christian Perez and Ines Perez Miranda, along with their two cleaning companies, pleaded guilty to failing to pay wages for company employees. The defendants were ordered to make restitution to 30 victims totaling over $28,000.

 

District Attorney Katz said: “These defendants failed to pay their cleaning company employees thousands of dollars in wages, that those workers rightfully earned, and thought they could get away with it. Thanks to an investigation by my Housing and Worker Protection Bureau, we were able to put a stop to the exploitation perpetrated by these defendants and get restitution for their victims. As part of their plea, they are also prohibited from incorporating in the state of New York for five years. If you have been a victim of wage theft, please contact my office at 718-286-6673. I thank our partners at the New York State Department of Labor for their assistance in this case.”

 

New York State Commissioner of Labor Roberta Reardon said: “At the Department of Labor our mission is to protect New York’s workforce, and that includes recovering their stolen wages. This judgment will stand as an example of what happens to unscrupulous employers who try to exploit their workers, and I applaud District Attorney Katz for her continued partnership as we work to ensure New Yorkers are receiving their hard-earned money.”

 

Perez, 40, pleaded guilty yesterday 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. Perez Miranda, 42, pleaded guilty to failure to pay wages in accordance with the labor law. The defendants were originally from Queens.

 

Additionally, Cleaning Pass LLC and Cleaning Pass Set It and Forget It LLC — two companies controlled by Perez – were included in today’s plea agreement. As part of the plea, the defendants were ordered to make restitution of $28,277.91, most of which has already been paid. They also cannot incorporate a company in New York state for five years.

 

Queens Supreme Court Justice Peter Vallone Jr. set a sentencing date of April 22, at which time Perez is expected to receive five years’ probation. Perez Miranda was sentenced yesterday to a conditional discharge.

 

According to the charges, Perez filed articles of organization forming Cleaning Pass LLC on July 26, 2022, and Cleaning Pass Set It and Forget It LLC on July 23, 2023. Perez was the principal of both companies and managed all bank accounts, filed legal statements and oversaw client bookings and payroll matters. His wife served as a managerial agent for the two companies and supervised employees when they worked.

 

Perez placed advertisements seeking cleaners and hired four individuals with the promise that the employees would be paid their wages within seven days. The employees were also advised they would be reimbursed for the cleaning supplies they purchased. The workers were required to download computer applications to document when they started and stopped working at different residential and business locations.

 

Once hired, Perez used the computer systems to track client bookings and employee work time. Employees also used the same systems to document their time. They were also required to ask permission before they could physically leave their work locations.

 

Perez and his wife used multiple strategies to deny employees their wages. In some cases, employees were directed to hold onto payroll checks until given express permission to cash them. The couple also gave employees checks issued with a future date or issued checks from an account with insufficient funds. On other occasions they failed to pay wages at all and demanded employees immediately leave their work locations without compensation. The defendants also failed to reimburse the employees for their cleaning supplies as promised.

 

Between September 6, 2023, and April 25, 2023, the victims sent multiple text and video messages to Perez and Perez Miranda requesting their wages and reimbursement for their expenses.

 

The investigation was conducted by Assistant District Attorney Christina Hanophy, Senior Deputy Chief in the Housing and Worker 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 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 is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney William Jorgenson, Housing and Worker Protection Bureau Chief, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Joseph T. Conley III.