The Louisiana Carpenters General Council, a carpenters’ union, is protesting the contractor constructing a new extension on the PMAC, alleging the contractor is engaging in insurance fraud and using workers who are not given proper workers’ compensation.The council says the contractor, Lloyd N. Moreau of Pineville, worked with a labor supplier who provided undocumented workers. Charlie Manning, director of business            development for the council, said Moreau and his labor supplier are “circumventing the law” and paying less insurance premiums by claiming to have less workers and pay less wages than they actually do.A secretary for Moreau said Moreau refused to speak with The Daily Reveille.Manning said a company which misrepresents its number of employees can pay less insurance premiums and therefore put in a lower project bid by 30 to 40 percent — a tactic Manning said “loopholes the law” and “lowers area standards.”Moreau’s labor supplier was Mauro Aguirre, owner of Lafayette-based Escapade Acoustic Drywall. Aguirre and his wife, Keren Aguirre, were arrested last week on charges of workers’ compensation premium fraud following an investigation by the Louisiana Workforce Commission’s Office of Workers’ Compensation.”We received the information and began our investigation,” said Chris Broadwater, Office of Workers’ Compensation director. “Our investigation lasted several months, at which point we thought there was enough information to turn it over to the attorney general’s office and the state police.”The key to understanding what crime Aguirre committed is understanding how workers’ compensation premiums are determined, Broadwater said. Premium amounts are based on three factors: the amount of payroll a company pays its employees, the amount of accidents the company has had in recent years and the job classification code, which measures how much risk for injury is found in different occupations.Claiming to have a smaller payroll would lower a company’s insurance premiums, said Tina Bourensbourg, assistant attorney general for the Louisiana Workforce Commission.”That would be fraud because he’s not honestly telling the insurance carrier what he paid [in payroll],” she said.Broadwater said the investigation on the Aguirres did not involve construction on the PMAC. But based on an investigation by the carpenters’ union, Manning said the same type of fraud is happening on the PMAC project.Eddie Nunez, associate athletic director for facility development, said while the controversy is not good for a University project, the University has no control over it.”It’s unfortunate, and I don’t want that associated with one of our projects,” Nunez said. “The thing is I have no choice. They are my subcontractor given to me through the state, and I just hope they do the project right from the moment they get on campus to the time they leave.”Emmett David, director of facility development, said the University has no plans to re-evaluate the construction despite the protests against Moreau.The construction on the PMAC — the addition of a locker room and two gymnasiums — has a long chain of command which is out of the University’s hands, he said. The contractors on the project were selected not by the University, but by the Louisiana Office of Facility Planning and Control.The project’s general contractor, Guy Hopkins, was appointed by the state, David said. Hopkins then subcontracted some of the work to Moreau, who worked with Aguirre to find laborers. Manning said both Hopkins and Moreau are responsible for the fraud which may be happening.”In the Louisiana state licensing law booklet, it says the general contractor is responsible,” Manning said. “We’ve addressed Guy Hopkins with that. We said, ‘You hired [Moreau], you should know what’s going on with your job.'”But Hopkins’ firm denies responsibility. Andy Hall, Guy Hopkins’ project manager for the PMAC construction, said the hiring done by a subcontractor is not his concern.”We accept bids, and that’s it,” Hall said. “We don’t get into their hiring practices.”Broadwater said criminal liability could potentially fall on Moreau if the allegations of the carpenters’ union are true, but it would depend on several factors — most importantly, whether Moreau was aware of Aguirre’s wrongdoing.Manning claims Moreau was fully aware of Aguirre’s business practices, which is why the carpenters’ council is protesting.”The person we primarily hold responsible is the company that is knowingly and willingly committing these violations,” Manning said. “Moreau knows exactly what is going on. Aguirre has worked with Moreau for a number of years and has been supplying him labor.”—-Contact Ryan Buxton at [email protected]