A Lakeville man has been charged with wage theft for stealing over $35,000 from his employees, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Friday.
Frederick Leon Newell, 57, was charged with Wage Theft (over $35,000) and Theft by Swindle (over $35,000). This is one of the first cases prosecuted under Minnesota's new wage theft law, passed in 2019 at the urging of the Hennepin County Attorney's Office. This case is being charged under a state-local wage theft partnership established through the Labor Advisory Council chaired by the Hennepin and Ramsey County Attorneys. That work is profiled in proceedings and materials attached.
"These are the kinds of cases that caused us to work with labor on a statewide system for prosecuting wage theft." Freeman said. "The working people of Minnesota deserve fair pay for their labor. If you are a Minnesota employer stealing from your employees, you will be investigated and charged."
According to the complaint, Newell owns and operates a commercial painting company known as Integrated Painting Solutions (IPS). IPS secured a bid to provide painting labor and materials in 2019 for the Redwell apartment complex in north Minneapolis. IPS subsequently signed a contract to provide cleaning services for the apartment complex in 2020.
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