SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) -- A plumbing contractor based in East County has been ordered to pay over $1 million dollars in restitution as part of a workers' compensation fraud prosecution, the office of San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said Wednesday. Daniela Birdwell, 41, the owner of GPS Plumbing, pleaded guilty to one count of workers' compensation insurance premium fraud. She will now have to pay $10,000 per month to the State Compensation Insurance Fund toward restitution as ordered by a judge. Protesters gather in response to ICE raid at East County business Birdwell was also sentenced to two years of formal felony probation plus 320 hours of community service, the district attorney's office stated. The State Fund provided workers' compensation insurance coverage to GPS Plumbing between June 2016 through May 2021. The fraud was first discovered when a State Fund special investigation unit saw noticeable differences between wages the company reported to the Employment Development Department and wages reported to the State Fund during policy audits. “Employers who engage in premium fraud are not only breaking the law, they also gain an unfair advantage over their competitors,” District Attorney Stephan said. “The dedicated investigators and prosecutors in our Insurance Fraud Division will continue to investigate this type of fraud to hold businesses accountable, protect employees, and level the playing field for law abiding companies.” The report of suspected fraud was submitted to the district attorney's office and the Department of Insurance for investigation. ...read more read less