In early April a Hennepin County trial judge convicted Frederick Leon Newell, owner of Integrated Painting Solutions based in Apple Valley, of one count of wage theft and one count of theft by swindle. It represents the first criminal conviction for wage theft in Minnesota history.

According to evidence presented in court, Newell underpaid five employees by more than $43,000 for their work in 2020 at work on the Redwell apartment complex.

Minnesota’s wage theft law went into effect in 2019. The Newell case was originally filed in 2022 when Mike Freeman was the Hennepin County Attorney. At the news conference, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said the case took that long because violent crimes have been prioritized over financial fraud.

However, Moriarty added, “I think we’ll be doing more of this, to encourage them (the county) to set aside a judge to hear these types of cases or to make sure that they are heard.”

Earlier this year, the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office secured a guilty plea in a case filed after receiving reports that the Stillwater Masonry wasn’t paying timely wages while contracted to perform work for the Triune Masonic Temple on Iglehart Avenue in St. Paul among other projects.

Labor unions believe wage theft is a common problem in construction trades particularly where immigrant workers are used. The enforcement of Minnesota’s wage theft law can be an important deterrent to such criminal activities.

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