Owner Of Home Nursing Service Withheld Employees' Wages: DA

A Queens woman, who owned a Westbury home nursing service, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with failing to pay tens of thousands of dollars in wages to employees.

Linda Cunegin, 72, of Jamaica, and her company Tri-County Home Nursing Services, Inc. were arraigned yesterday and charged with first-degree scheme to defraud and nine counts of failure to pay wages. She was released on probation, and is due back in court on March 14. If convicted of the top count, she could face up to four years in prison.

“The defendant allegedly exploited her employees by pocketing their hard-earned wages," said Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas. “Wage theft cases are a priority for my office and we will seek restitution and justice for these employees.”

According to Singas, from 2016 to 2017, Cunegin failed to pay more than $64,000 in wages to nine employees who worked for Tri-County Home Nursing Services. The employees were home health aides that worked in Nassau County, Singas said. The amount owed to the employees ranges between $973 to $15,578, and they still have not been paid, Singas said.

Singas said that Cunegin told the employees she had not received patient reimbursement funds from Medicare and Medicaid, and that's why paychecks were late. However, the invoices from Medicare and Medicaid were paid in full, Singas said. Additionally, some of the paychecks bounced due to insufficient funds, Singas said.

A complaint to the DA's Criminal Complaints Unit sparked the investigation. Tri-County Home Nursing Services is no longer in business.

Singas encourages anyone who may be a victim of wage theft to contact her office's Criminal Complaints Unit at 516-571-7755.