SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. (KRON) — A retired San Jose Police officer was sentenced Tuesday to three years in jail for using a side security business to commit millions of dollars in insurance fraud, money laundering, tax evasion, and worker exploitation. 

In January — 48-year-old Robert Foster, of Morgan Hill, was convicted of a series of felony fraud charges, including 173 acts of conspiring to commit $1.13 million in insurance fraud and $18 million in money laundering to cover it up.

Prior to his sentencing, Foster repaid complete restitution of $1.13 million to Everest National Insurance and the Employment Development Department.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office said there was also a general order of restitution for the purpose of paying exploited workers.

“No one is above accountability for illegally trying to make a profit on the backs (and injured bodies) of their workers,” said District Attorney Jeff Rosen.

Foster is the owner of Atlas Private Security (now Genesis Private Security) along with his wife, Mikailia Foster, 46, who pleaded no contest to the same insurance fraud and money laundering charges.

She will be sentenced to one year in county jail and five years of probation on April 29th.

According to the D.A.’s office, the former officer owned the business without the knowledge of the SJPD.

During the six-month investigation, law enforcement found that the Fosters illegally reduced their workers’ compensation insurance premiums and taxes by reporting false and inaccurate payroll, underreporting headcount, paying employees off-the-books, and underreporting employee injuries.

Additionally, the Fosters failed to pay employees overtime and dissuaded those employees from accurately reporting on-the-job injuries and wage-theft violations. 

The pair also hid millions of dollars of payroll through a complex subcontractor masking scheme. Employees were paid by a different security company, Defense Protection Group (DPG), which had no knowledge of the employees’ hours, wages, or schedules.

Instead, DPG simply moved money from the Fosters’ firm to the employees so that the Fosters could avoid paying their fair share of taxes, workers’ compensation insurance, and overtime wages.                 

The former SJPD officer will serve two years of mandatory supervision upon finishing his jail sentence.