Iowa Employment Agency Charged with Workers’ Compensation Premium Fraud

The owner of a Des Moines employment agency has been indicted on federal fraud charges, accused of scheming to defraud insurance companies out of workers’ compensation premiums.

Dan Sethi, of Ankeny, owns DES Staffing Services in Des Moines. An indictment returned last week charges him with five counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

The U.S. attorney’s office says Sethi created two other companies, Staffing Professionals and KDM Staffing ,which he represented as being separate from DES Services and transferred the majority of his employees to those other companies to avoid rising workers’ compensation premiums.

If convicted, Sethi could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

A telephone message left for Sethi was not immediately returned.