Owner of Westminster-based sandblasting company pleads guilty to stealing from his employees

Pavel Osokin, the owner of Tri-County Sandblasting, based in Westminster, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to stealing from his workers and was immediately sentenced to 15 days in jail and placed on one year of informal probation.

Osokin failed to pay full benefits to his workers by “misclassifying projects,” according to O.C. Deputy District Attorney Donde Ann McCament.

Osokin pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges including grand theft, making a fraudulent statement to obtain or deny compensation and intent to evade taxes.

Four counts of grand theft, receipt of portion of wages of a workman and failure to collect, account for or pay taxes, all felonies, were dismissed as part of the plea deal along with sentencing enhancements for aggravated white collar crime between $100,000 to $500,000.

The benefits alleged in the complaint included pension, medical and vacation and totaled about $215,000.