The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office announced today that Jonah Slatky a 53 year-old-man of Somis, has been charged with six counts of alleged felony workers’ compensation insurance premium fraud, with an alleged loss of approximately $519,000. The complaint further alleges a special enhancement for losses exceeding $100,000, as well as aggravating factors including that the crime involved both attempted and actual taking, and was carried out with planning, sophistication, or professionalism.
Slatky is the owner of Grand Custom, a rough framing construction business. The charges stem from a six-year period between July 2019 and July 2025, during which Slatky is alleged to have intentionally underreported employee payroll to his workers’ compensation insurance carrier to significantly reduce premium costs. Each count represents a separate policy year in which Slatky allegedly reported having zero employees and zero payroll.
The investigation revealed the alleged evidence that Slatky employed multiple workers on construction projects while paying them in cash, despite reporting no employees to his insurer. Financial records showed millions of dollars in business income during the charged period, along with substantial cash withdrawals believed to have been used for payroll.
The case was investigated by the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Senior Deputy District Attorney Joann Roth.
If convicted, Slatky faces a maximum sentence of six years and four months in state prison. The enhancement, if found true, makes a prison sentence mandatory.
Slatky was arraigned on March 27, 2026, where he pled not guilty to all charges and was released on his own recognizance. As a condition of release, he is prohibited from operating a business unless it is properly insured with workers’ compensation coverage.