Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Christian Perez, 40, and his wife, Ines Perez Miranda, 42, both of Queens, pleaded guilty to failing to pay employees of their cleaning companies thousands of dollars in wages. The couple, who operated Cleaning Pass LLC and Cleaning Pass Set It and Forget It LLC, were ordered to make $28,277.91 in restitution to 30 victims. Most of that amount has already been paid.
District Attorney Katz said the case highlights her office’s commitment to protecting workers from exploitation. “These defendants failed to pay their cleaning company employees thousands of dollars in wages that those workers rightfully earned and thought they could get away with it,” Katz said. “Thanks to an investigation by my Housing and Worker Protection Bureau, we were able to put a stop to the exploitation perpetrated by these defendants and get restitution for their victims.”
As part of the plea agreement, both Perez and Perez Miranda are barred from incorporating a business in New York State for five years. Perez pleaded guilty to scheme to defraud in the first degree, grand larceny in the third degree, and failure to pay wages. Perez Miranda pleaded guilty to failure to pay wages under state labor law.
Queens Supreme Court Justice Peter Vallone Jr. set Perez’s sentencing for April 22, at which time he is expected to receive five years’ probation. Perez Miranda has already been sentenced to a conditional discharge.
According to prosecutors, Perez founded Cleaning Pass LLC in July 2022 and Cleaning Pass Set It and Forget It LLC in July 2023. He managed both companies’ finances, client bookings, and payroll, while Perez Miranda supervised workers on job sites. The pair recruited employees through online ads, promising prompt payment and reimbursement for supplies. Workers were required to use time-tracking applications and seek permission before leaving work locations.
Investigators found that Perez and Perez Miranda used a series of deceptive tactics to avoid paying employees. Workers were told to hold checks until given permission to cash them, received postdated checks, or were issued checks from accounts with insufficient funds. In some cases, they were denied payment entirely and ordered to leave job sites without compensation. The defendants also failed to reimburse employees for cleaning materials they purchased.
Between September 2023 and April 2025, multiple victims sent text messages and videos to the couple requesting overdue wages and reimbursements, prompting the investigation.
New York State Commissioner of Labor Roberta Reardon praised the outcome, saying: “This judgment will stand as an example of what happens to unscrupulous employers who try to exploit their workers. I applaud District Attorney Katz for her continued partnership as we work to ensure New Yorkers are receiving their hard-earned money.”
The investigation was conducted by Assistant District Attorney Christina Hanophy, Senior Deputy Chief in the Housing and Worker Protection Bureau, with assistance from QDA Detectives Thomas Kaup and Noman Ahmad, and Investigative Accountant Vivian Tunnicliff. The New York State Department of Labor also assisted in the case through Senior Labor Standards Investigator Jorge Gordillo Alvarado and Chief Investigator Frank King.
Assistant District Attorney William Jorgenson, Chief of the Housing and Worker Protection Bureau, and Executive Assistant District Attorney Joseph T. Conley III supervised the prosecution.
