Mequon business owner gets six months in prison

Devereux did not pay wages claimed

The owner of a Mequon-based landscaping company was sentenced to six months in prison and given another six months of home detention for failing to pay the state and federal prevailing wage to his workers.

In addition, Scott Devereux, owner of Cedarburg Landscaping, was ordered to pay $242,000 in restitution. He paid $200,000 of it on Wednesday, the day he was sentenced by U.S. District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller. He also received three years probation.

Devereux, 52, also is barred from applying for any government contracts for three years as part of the plea agreement. He pleaded guilty to mail fraud in May.

In January, Devereux, 52, was indicted on six counts of fraud and 10 counts of filing false documents with the government.

Companies like Cedarburg Landscaping, which did work for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, are required by law to pay their employees at a prevailing wage rate.

Devereux admitted he paid workers below the prevailing wage and overstated wages on reports he submitted.

One worker told FBI agents he was paid between $12 and $15 an hour in 2013, the year he joined the Wisconsin Laborers Union. He was supposed to be paid roughly $23 an hour plus $20 in fringe benefits. Anyone who complained about the rate was given undesirable tasks by Devereux, the worker said.

Federal sentencing guidelines called for Devereux to receive 27 to 33 months in prison.

As part of the plea agreement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office agreed to recommend a year and a day in prison. That recommendation was revised to eight months after Devereux agreed to pay the $200,000 on Wednesday. Devereux’s attorney asked for probation.