Bethel Park man pleads guilty in workers comp case
A Bethel Park man pleaded guilty in Fayette County Court this week to failing to insure his employees under Pennsylvania’s workers’ compensation act. Walter R. Kuhns III, 59, was the CEO and co-founder of the now-closed HBC Barge LLC.
In exchange for the plea, Kuhns will serve two years of probation and will be responsible for $3,200 in restitution to an employee who was injured three times while working for the barge company in 2004. The employee was never reimbursed for his work-related injuries, which included a cut to his leg and finger and a strained back.
At the time the employee made a claim for medical reimbursement, prosecutors indicated that HBC Barge’s insurance was canceled because the company did not pay more than $200,000 in premiums.
Fayette County Judge Gerald Solomon scheduled Kuhns’ sentencing for June 24.