On September 30th, the State Attorney General’s Office arrested contractors for failing to pay wages and falsifying documents in New York City Housing Authority projects sending a strong warning to construction contractors who mistreat their employees.
Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and Rose Gill Hearn, the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation in a joint statement said that the contractors were charged with a felony and misdemeanor related to the falsifying of records.
Documents belonging to Mohammed Abdur Rashid and his company Columbus General Construction Inc., and Tarcisio Ferreira and Harrison Jarvis, whose construction businesses no longer exist, allegedly prepared false documents reflecting payments totaling to $367,000 in salaries to 19 workers between July 2, 2001 and December 31, 2002, as specified by agreements with the New York Housing Authority. However, later investigations revealed that the salaries were not paid.
The workers received between $70 and $110 per day, instead of $48.53 per hour that they had the right to receive, according to the law. The Attorney General is also seeking restitution for the lack of adequate payment to the employees, which will add up to more than $367,000.
The accused have made not-guilty pleas in the Borough of Queens Criminal Court. They were ordered to return to court on October 15th.
"The message is clear: falsifying records and failing to pay the prevailing wages on a public work project are serious violations of the law. Contractors who engage in such tactics can expect criminal sanctions," Spitzer said in a statement.
"These contractors unjustly chose to enrich themselves rather than pay employees their rightful wages. DOI [Department of Investigation of the New York City Housing Authority] will not tolerate this type of fraud or other acts of dishonesty, and will investigate them with vigor. Upon recovering any improprieties, DOI will seek to prevent the company in question from obtaining future contracts with the city," said Commissioner Gill Hearn.
