Catalina Island Business Owners Charged With Failing to Pay Employees Overtime, Filing Fraudulent Statements

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced Nov. 2 that Jack Arthur Tucey and Yueh Mei Tucey, aka Nora Tucey, have been charged with allegedly defrauding their employees of more than $500,000 in overtime wages, and filing false and fraudulent statements with the Employment Development Department beginning in 2008.

Jack Arthur Tucey, 62, and Yueh Mei Tucey, aka Nora Tucey, 75, are charged in case BA518809 with one felony count of grand theft wages from one employee exceeding $950; one felony count of grand theft wages from two or more employees exceeding $2,350; one felony count of conspiracy to commit a crime; seven felony counts of grand theft; and 15 felony counts of filing false and fraudulent returns.

It is further alleged that the victims were particularly vulnerable; and the offenses are related felonies, a material element of which is fraud and embezzlement, which involved a pattern of related felony conduct, and the pattern of related felony conduct involving the taking of, and resulted in the loss of more than $500,000.

Beginning in 2008, the defendants, who are married and own multiple businesses on Catalina Island, allegedly filed false and fraudulent statements with the Employment Development Department by underreporting the true wages that they paid their workers. The defendants allegedly had the same employees work at multiple businesses in the same day resulting in up to 18-hour workdays. The defendants allegedly only paid the employees minimum wage for all hours worked, in violation of the overtime pay laws.

The defendants are expected to be held on $590,000 bail each.

If convicted as charged, the defendants will face a maximum of 22 years in prison.

It is believed there are others who have been allegedly victimized by the Tuceys. If you or someone you know is a victim, please call the Department of Industrial Relations Hotline at 818-901-5305.