Malden business owners indicted for falsely misclassifying workers, concealing more than $2.8 million in payroll

Two owners of a Malden-based cleaning company have been charged with misclassifying their workers, concealing more than $2.8 million in payroll, Attorney General Maura Healey announced Monday.

Marcello Pompa, 40, of Saugus, was charged with five counts of compensation fraud and five counts of larceny over $250. Marcelia Freitas, 43, also from Saugus, was charged with two counts of workers compensation insurance fraud, Healey’s office said in a statement.

Both individuals pleaded not guilty at their arraignment in Middlesex Superior Court. They are due back in court Dec. 13.

Pompa and Freitas, owners of M&M Cleaning Inc., allegedly misclassified three of their workers as subcontractors, evading more than $74,000 in compensation insurance premiums from 2010 to 2016, Healey said.

“Misclassification is an increasingly common way for employers to avoid their legal obligations to employees and to unfairly compete in the marketplace,” Healey said.