(Bloomberg) -- New York authorities charged an engineering firm and one of its former executives with forging reports for homes damaged in Hurricane Sandy to deny flood insurance claims.
Matthew Pappalardo and HiRise Engineering PC were named in a 50-count indictment accusing them of altering at least 25 engineering reports that had been prepared by others, even though they didn’t participate in examining the homes and weren’t licensed to do so, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Monday in a statement.
“Today’s charges reveal a flagrant disregard for the well-being and safety of New Yorkers,” Schneiderman said in the statement. Pappalardo, 38, and Uniondale, New York-based HiRise were arraigned on Monday in Nassau County Supreme Court, according to the statement.
Disputes over insurance claims stemming from the 2012 hurricane spawned widespread litigation. Insurers that were sued in a related civil case paid millions of dollars to homeowners in settlements over allegedly manipulated reports, with some companies accused of conspiring with engineers and lawyers to deny claims.
Lawmakers including U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer of New York and Robert Menendez and Cory Booker of New Jersey were pushing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to address potential manipulation in the handling of flood-insurance claims.
Schneiderman’s statement didn’t give a reason why Pappalardo or HiRise allegedly manipulated the reports.
A message left at HiRise’s headquarters wasn’t immediately returned.
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