Two weeks ago federal, state and local authorities raided the Granite Park business development and the home of Granite Park developer Milt Barbis. At the time, few details were given about why the searches were being conducted. Now court documents that were made public reveal that Barbis and some of his business partners are being investigated for felony crimes involving insurance fraud and tax evasion.
A state insurance investigator states in the documents that Barbis is believed to have filed false police reports about stolen equipment to collect insurance money. Among the allegations, that Barbis claimed dozens of televisions were stolen when they actually were given to employees in lieu of wages and that he made insurance claims on items that were repossessed by companies he owed money. He's also accused of falsifying wage payments to lessen his workers compensation insurance payments and that he paid himself $200,000 to manage the non-profit part of the Granite Park complex and never reported that payment.
KSEE 24 News tried to contact Barbis on Monday for comment, but never heard from him.