SIX-MONTH, MULTI-AGENCY PROBE LANDS OSHA IMPOSTER IN JAIL

Clovis Police Department

City of Clovis

1233 Fifth Street, Clovis, CA. 93612

NEWS RELEASE

Date: 4/14/10

Contact: Janet Stoll-Lee, Public Information Officer 559-324-2447

Six-Month, Multi-Agency Probe Lands OSHA Imposter in Jail

Six month and four states later, four investigating agencies bring a 52-year-old woman back to the Central Valley to face more than 50 counts of grand theft, burglary, diversion of labor funds and theft by false pretences - all felonies. Maria Capiel is now in the Fresno County Jail for defrauding seven construction businesses in Fresno County, including one in Clovis, of nearly half a million dollars.

Clovis Police received a call from a local construction company after Capiel, who offered "safety classes" under the guise of being an OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) trainer, also sought to mitigate a fine she said the company owed to Cal-OSHA due to violations. When she broached the company again saying the fine was more than she thought it was going to be, owners immediately called our department.

Capiel stole, under false pretences, $35,000 from the Clovis construction firm. Clovis Police Detectives were able to put a hold on that money (disbursement pending court action), but not before Capiel fled the greater Clovis/Fresno area very quickly. She left behind a fully furnished homein Fresno and two cars in her haste to getaway to Las Vegas.

The U.S. Marshals Service then got involved and followed her trail from Nevada to Seattle to Texas, where they arrested her last month. They returned her to Clovis yesterdayafternoon, allowing detectives here to complete their investigation.

Five of the seven valley cases are being investigated by Fresno Police and one is being handed to the Fresno County Sheriff's Office. The U.S. Marshals Service is handling the crimes sheperpetrated in other states.

In her ficticious business dealings here, Capiel offered local construction companies binders full of training material and schooled employees in OSHA regulations for a fee. She "mitigated" non-existent fines and pocketed the money in an elaborate scam to bilk money out of victims.