A chase ensued, and Foster told his colleagues that he believed Aududdell was armed with a handgun when he ended up getting boxed in by police and eventually getting out of his vehicle. He also allegedly drove his car into Foster's, according to prosecutors. He referred all other questions to the District Attorney’s Office.ĭeputy District Attorney Mattia Corsiglia also charged Foster’s wife and eight other company employees with four counts of felony conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, unemployment insurance fraud, money laundering, and wage theft, and 39 additional felonies, including extortion and a white-collar crime enhancement.įoster was one of several officers involved in the deadly 2013 shooting of Ronald Aududdell, who was out on parole and had just broken into parked cars to steal wallets. Garcia would not answer any questions, including whether the chief has moved to terminate him. Enrique Garcia told KTVU that Foster was placed on administrative leave in March once the department was made aware of the criminal investigation. A man who answered the phone at his company said he wasn't at work, but promised to let him know a reporter was trying to reach him. Prosecutors also allege that to keep the scheme secret, Foster and several of his co-defendants discouraged overworked employees from identifying themselves as Atlas employees when seeking medical care for on-the-job injuries, or from seeking workers’ compensation benefits.Įfforts to reach Foster and his attorney, Nelson McElmurry, were not immediately successful on Friday. In other words, Foster used subcontractors illegally, trying to hide the number of security guards he really employed, thus reducing the unemployment insurance he was supposed to pay as well as his worker's comp premiums.Īnd not only that: Once, an employee was allegedly threatened with deportation if she continued to speak attorneys about her rights under worker’s compensation laws after suffering a workplace injury, prosecutors allege. In all, Atlas employees allegedly laundered approximately $18 million since 2015. The six-month investigation revealed that Foster allegedly hid about $8 million in payroll over three years, avoided nearly $600,000 in tax liability and $560,000 in insurance premiums, authorities allege.Īccording to prosecutors, Foster and the others allegedly reduced insurance premiums and taxes by reporting false and inaccurate payroll, underreporting headcount, paying employees off the books, and underreporting employee injuries. Other defendants include: San Jose resident Nam Trong Le, 49, a security subcontractor Margarita Trigo Rocha, 25, of San Martin Alberto Emmanuel Martinez, 33, of Modesto Victor Rene Parra, 33, of San Jose Jose Meza, 39, of San Jose and Jason Albert King, 48, of Fremont.įoster allegedly failed to disclose to SJPD that he owned and operated Atlas or that such ownership could result in ethical conflicts, prosecutors say, although that information is publicly available. Two other defendants also used to work for police departments: San Jose resident Richard McDiarmid, 59, a former Emeryville police officer and Victoria Lorraine Cruz, 48, Atlas’s accountant and a former Santa Clara police dispatcher.