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3 people from Salinas arrested for embezzlement and other charges



On Wednesday, August 22 the Ag Crimes Unit of the Investigations Division served a search warrant as part of an ongoing embezzlement case involving ghost workers. A ghost worker is a complex scheme where crew bosses who work in the Ag Industry add an extra person to their crew, clock them in, and then collect and cash the ghost workers’ paycheck. The ghost worker doesn't work at the job site or do any work for the company - they don't exist. Unfortunately ghost workers are all too common in the Ag Industry. The Investigators of the Ag Crimes Unit did an amazing job of working this complex investigation with Ramco Enterprises. Ultimately, this investigation stopped thousands of dollars of embezzlement that had no end in sight. Investigators arrested 39-year-old Ofelia Rodriguez, 42-year-old Octavio Nuci and 53-year-old Jesus Tomas all of Salinas. They were all booked into the Monterey County Jail on theft, identity theft, conspiracy and embezzlement related charges. The Ag Unit is currently working additional ghost worker related cases and additional arrests are anticipated in the future.

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