N.Y. construction company schemed $1.8M from workers, investigation finds
Six individuals have been arrested and charged with several counts of grand larceny, scheme to defraud and insurance fraud.
Parkside Construction schemed hundreds of low-wage immigrant laborers out of $1.8 million in wages, a joint investigation between the New York State Department of Labor (DOL), the Manhattan District Attorney and the Department of Investigation found.
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Meet the crew
Six individuals have been arrested and charged with several counts of grand larceny, scheme to defraud and insurance fraud.
Defendants Francesco and Salvatore Pugliese, co-owners of Parkside, along with payroll manager Yenny Duarte, supervising foreman James Lyons and accountant Michael DiMaggio, used a professional employment organization named Affinity Human Resources LLC to hide their illegal activity.
Affinity’s CEO Jerry Hamling has also been arrested. The defendants will be arraigned later in Supreme Court, New York County.
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Deceptive practices date back to past investigation
The takedown of one of New York’s largest construction companies and those involved resulted from the DOL’s continued partnership with law enforcement allies. The criminal case comes on the heels of a large-scale DOL investigation last year revealing pervasive underpayment and other labor violations against Parkside companies and Affinity. Workers were victimized over the course of several years.
“New York has zero tolerance for those who seek to break the law and deny a decent day’s pay for a hard day’s work,” Governor Cuomo said in a statement. “We will continue to work with prosecutors across this great state to hold perpetrators accountable and protect our workforce.”
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