Goulds tree service

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th Ave N, Rogers, MN,

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Category:Tree Services - Commercial and Industrial

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th Ave N
Rogers, MN,

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Mathew M

Thank you for a very reasonable estimate. Price and quality work, cleanup and respect for my property. We`d recommend you service to anyone.

Ava M

This is just a quick note to thank you again for the great service you provided us today. I truly appreciate your promptness, courtesy, clean up, and fair pricing for the services you offered. My husband and I are very happy with the…

Don B

Thank you the trees look great. You do good work, and it is appreciated.

Edy M.

Gould&#;s Tree Service Inc. did a fantastic job of replacing old wood on our backyard deck. He was very professional both in customer interface and in executing and completing the job in a very timely manner at a reasonable cost. We could…

Max D.

It is unfortunately rare these days when you get what you pay for, even rarer when you get more than you pay for. For this reason, I`d like to commend Gould&#;s Tree Service Inc. for the fine work, attention to detail, and going beyond my…

About Gould's Tree Service Inc.

Expert trimming, complete tree removal. We are a small, family-run business located in Rogers, Minnesota. Our company is committed to providing quality, expert tree care at affordable prices.

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Tree Trimming, Tree Removal, Tree Company, Stump Grinding, Tree Services

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Two people who were trimming trees at a home in Rogers, Minnesota when the lift they were operating overturned in a partially frozen pond, trapping them underneath.(FOX 9)

ROGERS, Minn. (FOX 9) - The owners of a tree-trimming business in Rogers, Minnesota are facing charges for an alleged insurance fraud scheme discovered after one of their employees was injured in an accident last year. 

Jerry Gould, 65, owns Gould&#x;s Tree Service and his wife, Lorraine Gould, 62, works for the company. 

According to the charges, on the morning of March 21, , Jerry and his employee, Will Hamer, were trimming trees at a home in Rogers. Jerry was using a remote control to maneuver a lift near the icy embankment in the backyard when he lost control of the lift and it slid down the hill, taking the two men with it. 

The lift overturned in a partially frozen pond, trapping Jerry and Hamer underneath. 

Jerry was able to free himself, but Hamer remained trapped. The water was up to his nostrils. When emergency crews arrived, first responders held Hamer&#x;s head out of the water while others worked to free him. 

Emergency crews extracted Hamer after 30 minutes in the frigid water. He suffered a hyperextended neck and required multiple surgeries for his pelvis, arm and shoulder. He also suffered anxiety and post-traumatic stress from the accident.

Hamer later told police about the Gould&#x;s employment and record-keeping practices, which prompted the Minnesota Commerce Fraud Bureau to open an investigation into possible workers&#x; compensation fraud by the company. 

During their investigation, agents from the Minnesota Commerce Fraud Bureau discovered the Goulds were intentionally underreporting their payroll costs to the company that provided them workers&#x; compensation insurance through the state&#x;s Assigned Risk Plan in order to drive down their premiums. 

The investigation also found that when Lorraine sent the insurance company a First Report of Injury form about the accident, she intentionally lied about Hamer&#x;s wages, hours worked and status, claiming he was part-time when he was actually a full-time employee.  

The insurance company used that incorrect information to calculate the amount Hamer was to be paid by workers&#x; compensation. As a result, he received half of what he should have received for workers&#x; compensation from the accident, missing out on $4, over four months.

I still have nightmares everyday&#x; everyday, said Will Hamer.

Physically Will Hamer is doing better, but still can't work and occasionally still needs his walker or wheelchair following the tree trimming accident that nearly killed him back in March of in Rodgers.

When the accident happened he turned his back and went the other way, says Hamer. 

According to the charges, the Gould's misrepresented payroll information for employees when filing the taxes. Then the accident happened, and Hennepin County prosecutors believe the Gould&#x;s attempted to correct their books before they got caught. That's also around the time Hamer's boss sent him this check which didn't make sense.

Hamer has made sure to save every single timecard through decades of making a living doing manual labor. 

You trust your boss to do the correct actions, says Angela Fairbanks, Hamer&#x;s longtime partner. When something like this happens to expect everything to just be there, and when it&#x;s not it feels like you are freefalling.

Between multiple surgeries for the injuries to his pelvis, shoulder, clavicle, and back. Hamer and Fairbanks have been fighting to support their family of five. They've gone from Hamer making $ dollars every week,  part paid in cash part by paycheck, to battles over workman&#x;s comp and now living off $ every two weeks.

Meanwhile they worry Jerry Gould continues to be a danger to others as his tree trimming work continues.

I had a problem with him smoking marijuana on the job. that&#x;s what we got into an argument about. I was going to quit the job, says Hamer.  We were cutting down trees on these wealthy people&#x;s houses. These people don&#x;t know this individual is high on the job. I&#x;m in sobriety. He&#x;s jeopardizing my sobriety. I have 15 years of sobriety.

The new charges and ten thousand dollars&#x; worth of fines from OSHA don't include anything about drug use Hamer witnessed, but now they are looking forward to facing the Gould's in court.

I just hope he learns from this mistake, says Hamer You know you are putting people&#x;s lives in danger.. this is serious.

Jerry and Lorraine were charged by summons with one count each of insurance fraud and theft by swindle. They will make their first court appearance on Jan. 3.

According to a criminal complaint, Jerry Gould and an employee were trimming trees at a home in Rogers on March 21, While the two were working, the lift they were on lost control and slid downhill, overturning in a partially frozen pond. 

Gould was able to free himself while the employee had to be extricated. 

Horrific accident, amazing rescue in Rogers

The complaint said the employee suffered a number of injuries, as well as anxiety and post-traumatic stress. 

The worker later spoke with police about the Goulds' employment practices, which raised concerns about workers' compensation insurance fraud. 

During an investigation, the Minnesota Commerce Fraud Bureau learned the Goulds were underreporting payroll costs to the company that provides workers' compensation insurance. As a result, the Goulds were charged less for workers' compensation insurance. 

The county attorney's office said the day after the accident, Lorraine Gould sent the insurance company the first report regarding the employee's injury and "intentionally lied about the injured man's wages, hours worked and status."  

The insurance company then used that information to calculate the amount the injured man received, which was half of what he should have received. 

"There's surprisingly more work than we can handle at one given time," Matthew Vatter, the Assistant Commissioner of Enforcement at the Minnesota Commerce Department, said.

He says often workers' comp insurance fraud comes to light when someone is hurt."It's actually a fairly prolific problem that we have evading payments for workman's compensation is one way for a company to kind of shave off costs," he said.

The Goulds were charged via summons. Their first court appearance is set for Jan. 3. 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS made multiple attempts to reach the couple charged, but at last check has yet to hear back.

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