Santa Clara Contractor Charged With Felony Wage Theft and Fraud in $45 Million Senior Care Project

When family members arrive at 581 Fremont Ave in sunny Santa Clara to visit loved ones at Sunrise Senior Living Center, a $45 million senior care facility, they pull up to a tidy lawn and a facility that appears meticulously built, down to the finishing touches. Inside, trims and baseboards were skillfully installed by a small crew of five construction workers employed by subcontractor Perfection Installation Corp, working under general contractor WE O’Neil Construction Co. of San Diego to build the $45 million senior care facility — a project now at the center of a felony fraud case involving allegations of wage theft and labor violations.

In April 2025, Santa Clara County District Attorney charged Roberto Alexander Melara, CEO and President of Perfection Installation Corp, with five felony counts, including grand theft, insurance fraud, and workers’ compensation premium fraud, all arising from Perfection Installation Corp.’s treatment of its employees on the construction of the senior care facility. The allegations boil down to the claim that, while families pay over $7,000 a month for their loved ones’ care, the workers who built the facility were denied basic wages and legal labor protections.

Labor compliance investigators from the Nor Cal Carpenters Union interviewed workers and uncovered reports of wage theft and other labor violations. Workers reported being denied legally required rest and meal breaks, routinely working more than eight hours a day and on weekends without overtime pay, and sometimes being paid in cash or with checks that bounced. These employment practices, combined with missing state and federal deductions, point to potential workers’ compensation premium fraud and other illegal practices.

It’s these felony charges that constitute the core of the ongoing criminal case. Melara faces multiple serious charges, including (1) insurance premium fraud; (2) falsifying records to avoid paying the full cost of workers’ compensation coverage-a scheme that can save unscrupulous contractors thousands while leaving injured workers without the safety net they’re entitled to; and (3) two counts of grand theft for withholding wages from employees. The charges are as follows:


CODE	DEFINITION
PC550(b)(3)	Conceal, or knowingly fail to disclose the occurrence of, an event that affects any person's initial or continued right or entitlement to any insurance benefit or payment, or the amount of any benefit or payment to which the person is entitled.
IC1871.4(a)(1)	Making, or causing to be made, a knowingly false or fraudulent material statement or representation for the purpose of obtaining or denying any workers’ compensation benefits.
IC11760(a)	It is unlawful to make or cause to be made any knowingly false or fraudulent statement, whether made orally or in writing, of any fact material to the determination of the premium, rate, or cost of any policy of workers' compensation insurance, for the purpose of reducing the premium, rate, or cost of the insurance.
PC487(a) (Two Counts)	When the money, labor, real property, or personal property taken is of a value exceeding nine hundred fifty dollars ($950)

The felony case remains ongoing. If convicted on all counts, Melara could face imprisonment, large fines, and be legally required to repay both workers and insurers. For the five workers involved, this case is more than just a legal battle: it’s a fight for justice. For contractors statewide, it serves as a clear warning: construction wage crimes will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.