Two Auburn business owners have pleaded guilty to felony charges and will have to repay more than $30,000 in stolen wages from 24 former employees, according to the attorney general’s office.

Travis Jackson pleaded guilty to first-degree larceny and attempted to avoid paying industrial insurance premiums, according to the attorney general’s office. Marissa Bond pleaded guilty to first-degree larceny for stealing her employees’ wages, according to the attorney general’s office.

A King County Superior Court judge ordered Jackson to pay $600 in costs and serve 120 days in jail, which was reduced to electronic home surveillance, and an additional 244 days in jail, suspended for two years.

Bond was ordered to pay $600 in costs and 200 hours of community service. Bond and Jackson are required to reimburse their victims $33,298 and $12,648 to the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries for unpaid industrial insurance premiums.

Jackson and Bond are co-owners of Advanced Cleaning Solutions, established in March 2017, and Washington Cleaning Solutions, established a year later. Both companies provided residential cleaning services to homeowners in King County, according to the attorney general’s office.

Jackson and Bond failed to pay 24 employees for their work while employed at either company, according to the attorney general’s office.

Labor and Industries began receiving wage complaints from workers in June 2017, eventually referring the complaints to the Attorney General’s office and launching a joint investigation.

The employment contracts provided by the workers stated that the workers could not ask about their salary and would be fired immediately if they refused to work because they were not being paid, according to the attorney general’s office.

“I agree not to ask questions, interrogate or harass the Company or its representatives at any time about my checks and when they will be received,” the agreement reads. “I understand that if I refuse to work because I haven’t received a check, I will be fired immediately.”

When unpaid workers contacted Bond to ask about their paychecks, they were either ignored, told the checks were in the mail or fired for asking for too many payments, according to the attorney general’s office.

Some workers had their wages stolen by Bond and Jackson for a full month and were unable to buy food and gas, they told investigators. Following the theft of their wages, some workers even lost their homes because they could not pay their rent, according to the attorney general’s office.

Jackson left abusive and threatening voicemails on a worker’s phone, according to the attorney general’s office. In voicemail, Jackson humiliated the employee for her work ethic and blamed her for poor online reviews because she said she hadn’t been paid.

Jackson told the employee he would not pay her on voicemail.

When employees complained to Bond or Jackson about late payments, they would refer to employment contracts and threaten to sue their employees for $5,000.

“Companies that commit wage theft are stealing from their employees,” Attorney General Bob Ferguson said. “My office is committed to fighting wage theft with every tool in our toolbox.”

This case was referred to the Attorney General’s Office by the King County District Attorney. The attorney general’s office does not have the power to initiate criminal investigations unless it receives a referral from the governor or a prosecutor.