A 40-year-old Shelton man must repay more than $32,000 to the state Department of Labor and Industries after he pleaded guilty to one count of attempted second-degree theft.
L&I announced the news Friday after he was convicted in Thurston County Superior Court earlier in the week.
Jose Cruz Contreras Alvarez was sentenced to two months in jail and two years of probation; however, the judge will allow him to serve the jail time through electronic home monitoring or work release, according to a news release.
L&I investigated Alvarez in 2017 after receiving an anonymous tip that he was working for his wife’s shellfish company, despite claiming to be injured and collecting workers’ compensation benefits. The man received $32,628 over eight months to replace his wages.
The L&I investigation showed Alvarez loading bags of oysters into commercial trucks during the spring and summer of 2017.
