Los Angeles Delivery Company Owners to Repay More Than $2 Million After Workers' Compensation Scheme Left Employees Unprotected

LOS ANGELES — John Nemandoust, 70, and Annette Assil, 62, a Los Angeles couple, were sentenced after a California Department of Insurance investigation found they underreported more than $21 million in employee payroll for their delivery companies. Nemandoust was sentenced to 60 days in county jail, while Assil was sentenced to 30 days. The pair were sentenced to 10 years of felony probation and also ordered to pay $2,254,748 in restitution for unpaid workers’ compensation insurance premiums.
The Department launched an investigation into A-1 Valley Services, Prompt Delivery, and Affordable Messenger, the three companies the couple owned, after receiving information that two of the companies were uninsured. The investigation revealed that between 2013 and 2017, the couple only obtained workers’ compensation coverage for Valley Services employees, while leaving Prompt Delivery and Affordable Messenger uninsured.

Read the entire press release. California Department of Insurance, March 28, 2025