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Chavez pleaded guilty to felony premium fraud, sentenced to 180 days in county jail, two years of formal probation, and ordered to pay $225,168 in restitution to the State Compensation Insurance Fund (State Fund). Chavez has paid his restitution and served his jail time on electric monitoring.

“Premium fraud puts workers at risk and shifts the financial burden to honest employers who follow the law,” said Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. “This case is a clear example of our commitment to protecting workers and holding those accountable who try to game the system. Thank you to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office for their partnership and dedication in bringing this case to justice. ”

Chavez owned and operated Tactical Operations Protective Services, a limited liability company providing security guard, staffing, and patrol services in Santa Clara County. The Department received a suspected fraud referral in September 2023 from State Fund alleging Chavez failed to report an employee injury that occurred in June 2022. The referral further alleged Chavez had significantly underreported payroll for multiple security guards over a six-year period.

Although Chavez transported the injured worker to an emergency room on the date of the injury, he failed to notify State Fund or report the incident as required. The Department’s investigation revealed that from 2017 to 2022, Chavez had falsely claimed to State Fund that he had no employees or payroll. For the 2022 to 2023 policy year, he reported only $40,000 in payroll related to the injured employee.

However, the Department’s audit uncovered that Chavez concealed $3,431,903 in payroll from 2017 through 2023. This underreporting resulted in an estimated $205,565 in unpaid workers’ compensation premiums owed to State Fund.

The case was prosecuted by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.Source: CA. Dept. of Ins.

SAN FRANCISCO, May 19 (Reuters) - Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab self-driving unit Waymo said on Monday it received approval from California to expand its robotaxi operations in more areas of the San Francisco Peninsula and further south, including San Jose.

Waymo's permission from California comes as Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab gears up to roll out a paid robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, next month. CEO Elon Musk has said the electric vehicle maker will expand the service to California later this year.

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Waymo requested authorization to expand its operations in March and received 23 responses in support and no protests from stakeholders, California Public Utilities Commission said in a statement.

Waymo, however, said it would not expand the services in the San Francisco Bay Area immediately.

"We want to bring Waymo One to more of the Bay Area, and any expansion of the service will happen methodically over time," a company spokesperson said. The spokesperson did not provide any reason for that decision and said there were "no imminent plans or timeline to share."

Waymo is the only U.S. firm to run uncrewed robotaxi services carrying paying passengers. The company has more than 1,500 vehicles on the road across San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin, Texas, and runs over 250,000 rides a week.

Self-driving vehicle companies have been under increased regulatory scrutiny following a major accident in 2023 in San Francisco involving a robotaxi from General Motors' (GM.N), opens new tab Cruise, which later shut operations.

Waymo, which has been growing its presence steadily, is recalling more than 1,200 self-driving vehicles to update software and address risks of collisions with chains, gates and other roadway barriers, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said last week. U.S. auto safety investigators had opened a probe last year.

NHTSA has been investigating Tesla's full self-driving collisions in reduced roadway visibility conditions since October and asked the company last week to answer questions on its robotaxi launch plans to assess how the vehicles would perform in poor weather.

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Fans flocked to Santana Row in San Jose to just catch a glimpse of the greatest athlete and soccer player in the world - Lionel Messi.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Fans flocked to Santana Row just to catch a glimpse of the greatest athlete and soccer player in the world, Lionel Messi.

The hype and excitement could be felt throughout San Jose.

LATEST: Local artist, family from Mexico among Messi fans clamoring to see icon in San Jose

"I guess we're waiting for another Leo to come from the balcony to greet us," Hugo Vera said. "Really, second only to the Pope, he is the second most famous man in the world right now."

It's not the pope in Santana Row. It's the GOAT, Lionel Messi.

Everyone tried to get their eyes on the international superstar, even to just catch a wave like crowds did Monday evening outside Hotel Valencia

MORE: Quakes, Shakes and Cakes: DJ Steve Aoki lights up San Jose ahead of Messi game

"I want to see Messi, I want him to sign my jersey," Mateo Pineo said. "It has been my all-time dream to see him in public."

"Yeah (I skipped school), but it's more important than school because school is forever and this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity - or maybe two," Jaandeo Lopez said. "So, I'd rather just take the chance."

Fans lined the streets as buses arrived to pick up Inter Miami CF to take them to training.

ABC7 News was there for hours as crowds grew bigger, bigger and bigger, anxiously anticipating the team's departure.

RELATED: Messi is in the Bay: Fans flock to San Jose as soccer megastar arrives ahead of Earthquakes game

Messi and his team will be playing the San Jose Earthquakes in a must-see matchup at PayPal Park Wednesday night.

"The tickets are a bit expensive, but I'm thinking about it," Osmar Gonzalez said. "But I know he's here, so I might have to spend it because it's a once-in-a lifetime thing."

ABC7 was told that people are waiting at Santana Row until midnight just to catch a glimpse of the great one, and that works up quite an appetite.

Restaurants nearby said that Messi is boosting the South Bay economy.

"I didn't know he was going to be here until I saw people with his shirts," Taqueria Parranga manager Jose Perez said. "I wanted to go see him, too, but we've been so busy. It's great to have him."

The San Jose Earthquakes hosted a block party featuring a live musical performance by global superstar Steve Aoki Tuesday in Downtown San Jose's SoFA District.

The Block Party is part of the festivities that week leading up to the following night, when the Earthquakes take on Inter Miami CF at PayPal Park in one of the most anticipated matchups in Bay Area soccer history.

Everyone was talking about Messi, even the men who will play him - the Quakes.

"It will be a very special moment for all of us," San Jose Earthquakes Winger, and Argentinian native Cristian Espinoza said. "To have the best player in history, it will be very special for us and hopefully we can have a good game."

Until the game, crowds will surely continue to show up in Santana Row. Because, just as he's a once-in-a generation player, seeing him in San Jose may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

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How gas prices have changed in San Jose in the last week

Gas prices have gone up by about 9 cents per gallon since this time last month but are still down by nearly 50 cents compared to this time last year. The national average fuel price is about $3.17, with Abilene, Texas, seeing the cheapest metro-area prices at $2.54 and Salinas, California, with the most expensive at $5.17.

After issuing multiple pauses on tariffs against Canadian and Mexican imports since taking office, President Trump in early April announced a sweeping 10% baseline tariff on all imports to the U.S., with many countries facing even steeper duties, though oil and gas imports are exempted from new tariffs. On April 9, the White House announced a three-month pause on all "reciprocal" tariffs (except against China), but the baseline 10% tariffs will remain in place.

Jolted by the impact of the tariff announcement, the stock market plummeted on April 3, with U.S. oil prices dropping 7%. The double-whammy of lower prices and higher costs for crucial materials like steel pipes may have a major impact on domestic oil and gas production. Meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries announced this month that it would increase production to help stabilize the market.

Expecting market volatility, GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan thinks it is possible that gas prices have already reached their peak in 2025, which typically happens around mid-April each year.

"After oil's sharp drop over the last couple of weeks—driven by concerns over the impact of U.S. tariffs and OPEC+ restoring production faster than expected—gasoline prices have posted a notable weekly decline, with nearly every state seeing prices fall," De Haan said in a statement this week. "While I do expect gas prices to continue trending lower, any abrupt change in the current tariff situation could eventually bring the decline to a halt."

Stacker compiled statistics on gas prices in San Jose, CA metro area using data from AAA. Gas prices are current as of April 17.

San Jose by the numbers- Gas current price: $4.95--- California average: $4.85- Week change: -$0.11 (-2.3%)- Year change: -$0.64 (-11.5%)- Historical expensive gas price: $6.55 (6/13/22)

- Diesel current price: $5.09- Week change: -$0.04 (-0.7%)- Year change: -$0.41 (-7.5%)- Historical expensive diesel price: $7.13 (6/18/22)

Metros with the most expensive gas#1. Salinas, CA: $5.17#2. Napa, CA: $5.15#3. Santa Rosa, CA: $5.13

Metros with the least expensive gas#1. Abilene, TX: $2.54#2. Laredo, TX: $2.54#3. Cleveland, TN: $2.55

This story features writing by Tim Bruns and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 371 metros.

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