Miami Contractor Charged with Underreporting Payroll to NorGuard by $1 Million

A Miami construction company owner has been charged with theft and workers’ compensation fraud after he allegedly underreported his firm’s payroll by almost $1 million, a deception that defrauded NorGuard Insurance of more than $100,000 in premiums. Israel Carballo, head of Carballo Group LLC, was arrested Nov. 5, pleaded not guilty and was released on bond, court records show. An investigator with the state Department of Financial Services found that in 2023 Carballo purchased workers’ comp coverage from NorGuard, a Berkshire Hathaway company. He claimed a relatively small number of workers, which kept his premium at about $9,300 for the policy year. But the DFS investigator subpoenaed records from subcontractors that showed Carballo Group had actually paid some $1,074,000 to workers, the arrest affidavit attests. The investigation also found that Carballo had used check-cashing services to cash checks, presumably to pay workers in cash. Had he correctly reported his company’s payroll, the annual premium would have been $109,863, the investigator said in the affidavit. Carballo has claimed indigent status, which could qualify him for a court-appointed attorney or public defender. Florida Secretary of State corporation records show that Carballo Group was registered as a corporation in 2023 but was dissolved by the state agency after the company failed to file an annual report in 2025. Topics Contractors Was this article valuable? Thank you! Please tell us what we can do to improve this article. Thank you! % of people found this article valuable. Please tell us what you liked about it. Here are more articles you may enjoy.