Two California business owners suspected of premium fraud surrendered to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Thursday and were being held Friday on $186,518 bail, the Insurance Department announced.

Steven Antu, 40, and Pete Albano, 51, both of West Covina, were each charged with three felony counts of premium fraud. If convicted on all counts, Antu and Albano each face a maximum of 15 years in state prison and up to $372,000 in fines, the department said.

In January, the Department of Insurance received a referral from the State Compensation Insurance Fund alleging that Antu and Albano, owners of United Security Agency (doing business as Patriot Protection Service), underreported their workers’ compensation payroll on their quarterly payroll reports from 2005 through 2007. State Fund alleged that the company misrepresented the amount of payroll purposely, in an attempt to reduce the cost of their insurance premiums. The estimated loss to SCIF is approximately $186,000 over the three-year period, the department said.

Based on evidence obtained from the Insurance Department's investigation, warrants were issued for both Antu’s and Albano’s arrests on Sept. 17. The case is being prosecuted by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Source: Calif. Insurance Dept.