The president of a Connellsville, Pa., insurance agency faces charges from the state attorney general’s office of failing to provide workers’ compensation insurance for his staff.

William R. McCandless, 79, president of McCandless Insurance and Real Estate, faces 1,054 felony counts of failure to insure, according to the Connellsville Daily Courier.

McCandless allegedly told an investigator that he could not afford a policy, according to the report.

In a complaint filed against McCandless, it is alleged that he failed to provide coverage for employees from Aug. 12, 2006, to July 31, 2009, as he was not exempted as a self-insurer and every day without coverage constituted a separate offense and separate count.

In 2006, McCandless told an investigator with the state’s workers’ compensation compliance section he had no coverage for his business and was told that he could face criminal charges for failure to do so, according to the report. In June, McCandless told another investigator that he could not afford a policy for his employees, the report said.

The investigation into McCandless began by the Western Regional Office of the Insurance Fraud Section of the Office of the Attorney General, based on a referral from the Pennsylvania Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Compliance Section, according to the newspaper.