Between Jan. 11, 2011, and Aug. 10, 2011, Bdaiwi and Naranjo Jr. are accused of requiring workers to return a portion of their wages and threatening to terminate their employment if they did not comply.
A construction company owner and his foreman were arraigned today for defrauding employees out of $330,000 in wages and keeping the money for themselves from two public works contract. Mustafa Mohamed Bdaiwi, 41, Irvine, and Antonio Naranjo Jr., 40, Costa Mesa, are charged with 11 felony counts of taking and receiving a portion of a worker’s wage on public works project, two felony counts of recording a false and forged instrument, and sentencing enhancements for property loss over $200,000. If convicted on all counts, they face a maximum sentence of 12 years and four months in state prison. The defendants are each being held on $330,000 bail and must prove the money is from a legal and legitimate source before posting bond. They are scheduled for a pre-trial hearing Jan. 3, 2014, at 8:30 a.m. in Department C-57, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.
At the time of the crime, Bdaiwi is accused of owning a construction company, Malcon Civils Inc. Naranjo Jr. is accused of working for Bdaiwi as his project administrator. In December 2010, Bdaiwi is accused of being awarded a project by the City of Irvine and given contracts to do work at an Irvine elementary school. Bdaiwi and Naranjo Jr. are accused of constructing a wall, which later began to lean over and subsequently needed to be removed due to faulty construction and causing a safety hazard. The defendants are also accused of being awarded a project by the City of Hemet, and upon completion, embezzling the funds meant to be used to pay their workers for the construction.
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