Former Warwick Business Owner Sentenced For Wage Theft

PROVIDENCE, RI — A Woonsocket man who used to own a business in Warwick pleaded no contest Wednesday to charges of check fraud and wage theft in Providence County Superior Court. David Pelino, 43, was accused of failing to pay more than $7,000 to three Bright Sky Solar, LLC employees in 2018.

Pelino pleaded nolo contendre to three counts of failure to pay wages, one count of issuing a fraudulent check over $1,500 and one count of issuing a check less than $1,500. He was sentenced to 18 months probation and ordered to pay $2,364 in restitution to two of the former employees. The court had recommended a two-year suspended sentence with probation as well as full restitution and 100 hours of community service.

The restitution was the difference remaining in unpaid wages still owed to the employees. Between the time the charges were filed and Wednesday, Pelino repaid approximately $4,700 in wages to the three employees.

"The defendant’s refusal to pay his former workers money they'd earned is stealing — plain and simple," Attorney General Neronha said. "Wage theft not only harms employees denied the money they are owed, but also those employers who compensate their workers fairly and do play by the rules. I hope that employers, like the defendant here, that would steal from their employees in this way are getting the message. We know why you do this. You think that your employees are too scared to complain, or that if they do that no one will listen. You’re wrong. This is a significantly heightened law enforcement initiative. And the stakes are getting higher."

Pelino was the owner of Bright Sky Solar, which was based in Warwick and specialized in installing window and solar systems. From June to September 2018, he laid off three employees and did not pay the wages owed to them. All three filed complaints with the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, which led to an investigation by state police and the attorney general's office. They found that Pelino refused to pay one employee and issued checks to the two others that could not be cashed due to insufficient funds.

As a result of another complaint filed with the DLT, Pelino repaid a fourth employee before he was arrested in September 2019.