Meriden Business Owner Arrested After Worksite Visit, Officials Say

MERIDEN, CT — An owner of a Meriden construction company has been arrested and charged in connection with failing to provide the required workers’ compensation insurance coverage for employees, according to officials.

Carlos Gutama, 28, of Meriden, and one of the owners of C&D Gutama Construction, LLC, was arrested Tuesday by Inspectors from the Workers’ Compensation Fraud Control Unit in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney. He was charged with one count of noncompliance with insurance requirements, according to a news release from the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, officials said a joint visit by the Connecticut Department of Labor and investigators in the Workers’ Compensation Fraud Control Unit to a worksite in Newington on Feb. 22, 2024 “showed that C&D Gutama Construction, LLC, which had been hired to install roofs on newly constructed apartment buildings, failed to provide the required workers’ compensation insurance coverage for their employees.”

“Connecticut state law requires businesses to demonstrate to the Workers’ Compensation Commission their solvency and financial ability to compensate injured employees or beneficiaries,” officials wrote in the news release. “Otherwise, the business must carry workers’ compensation insurance to cover the full liability.”

Gutama was released after posting a $10,000 bond with a court date of July 15.

Non-compliance with insurance requirements is a class D felony punishable by 1-5 years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $5,000, according to officials.

“The charges are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law,” officials wrote in the news release. “The case will be prosecuted by the Workers’ Compensation Fraud Control Unit in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney in Rocky Hill. The Unit is grateful for the assistance it received from the Connecticut Department of Labor, Wage & Workplace Standards Division and the Rocky Hill Police Department.”