2 Accused of Defrauding Workers : Labor: A Lancaster couple are charged with withholding $170,000 in wages on two public works projects.

A Lancaster electrical contractor and his wife were charged Wednesday with misappropriating about $170,000 in wages from their employees on two public works projects by paying illegally low wages to workers and falsifying government records.

In what prosecutors described as rare criminal charges for such an offense, James and Brenda Paxin were charged with defrauding employees during subcontracting work at Lancaster City Hall and Canyon Country Park in Santa Clarita during 1988 and 1989.

The 21-count complaint against the Paxins, co-owners of Paxin Electric, was filed by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office in Lancaster based on a nine-month inquiry by state labor investigators.

Authorities charged the Paxins with violating state labor laws against diverting wages due to workers. James Paxin, 38, was also charged with falsifying public documents submitted to city and state officials. He allegedly forced workers to report that they worked fewer hours and received higher pay than they actually had to make it appear that they received the prevailing wage required on government contracts.

Seventeen workers were allegedly victimized on the $4.7-million City Hall addition from February, 1988, to July, 1989. Paxin received a $560,000 contract and illegally pocketed about $116,000, authorities said.

Thirteen employees were victimized on the $2.1-million park project, where Paxin Electric performed $158,000 in wiring work as a subcontractor between May and November, 1989, authorities said. The Paxins allegedly pocketed $53,000 on that project.

Paxin and his wife, 40, surrendered in Antelope Valley Municipal Court on Wednesday and were released on their own recognizance. Attorney Michael C. Eberhardt, who appeared for the couple, said he knew little about the case.

But Eberhardt said: “Normally these cases are handled civilly. I have to see why this case was taken to the criminal level.”

Only about four or five such criminal cases are filed in Southern California each year, said Roger Miller, regional manager of the enforcement bureau of the state Division of Labor Standards. He said investigators filed charges against the Paxins because the couple had been the subject of civil actions in the past for similar violations and because employees came forward with testimony and records.

The Paxins’ scheme enabled them to circumvent established competitive bidding procedures for government contracts, Miller said.

“That’s the intent of the law, to make the process competitive,” he said.

State officials are receiving an increasing number of complaints about employers who misappropriate public works funds by demanding kickbacks from employees, he said.

In court papers filed Wednesday, an investigator said Paxin “developed an elaborate paper scheme to avoid proper payment of prevailing wages to his employees.” Workers were paid between $5 and $15 an hour for work that should have earned $29.60 an hour under state-mandated wages for electricians, prosecutors said.

Workers signed altered pay sheets because they “feared for their jobs if they did not go along with the program,” the report said.

Each of the 21 felony counts carries a penalty of 16 months to three years in prison, authorities said.

The Division of Labor Standards is pursuing civil action that could also result in fines, officials said.