New Berlin Contractor Agrees to Plead Guilty to Scheme to Underpay Wages – Will Pay $1.6 Million in Restitution and Damages

WASHINGTON, D.C. – June 17, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — United States Attorney James L. Santelle of the Eastern District of Wisconsin announced today that Scott Watry of New Berlin, Wisconsin, has agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States. Mr. Watry is the president and owner of Watry Homes, LLC, a contractor alleged to have underpaid wages on federally funded housing projects. Mr. Watry and Watry Homes, LLC, have also agreed to settle related civil False Claims Act allegations. In total, Mr. Watry and Watry Homes, LLC, will pay over $1.6 million in restitution and damages.

Watry Homes, LLC, does roofing, siding, and carpentry work on private residences, commercial projects, and public housing projects in Wisconsin. From 2011 to 2012, Watry Homes performed contracts worth approximately $4.7 million on the Westlawn public housing project in Milwaukee. Because the federal government contributed funds to the Westlawn project, it was subject to the Davis Bacon Act. The Act requires contractors to pay workers prevailing wages in order to protect local wage rates. The Act further requires contractors to submit weekly certified payroll reports.

According to the plea agreement, Mr. Watry conspired with others to pay workers on the Westlawn project hourly wage rates that were considerably lower than the legally…

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Marta Rivera Metelko
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U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development
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