Federal officials report they have charged two construction company owners with submitting fraudulent bonds in connection with storm recovery and reconstruction projects in New York.
Rawinder Dhillon and Amninder Singh allegedly defrauded the New York State Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery (GOSR) and obtained more than $5.4 million of construction payments on false pretenses, according to Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, the assistant director, New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
GOSR oversees federal disaster recovery funds given to the state and handles construction bids for rebuilding efforts. For each construction project, construction firms are required to obtain surety performance bonds and payment bonds. According to the complaint, in April 2021, the construction company owed by Dhillon and Singh submitted documents purporting to be the required performance bonds and payment bonds. GOSR paid them more than $5.4 million in connection with the construction projects.
Later, in February 2022, the complaint continues, a subcontractor that had contracted to perform roofing work contacted GOSR to report that it had not.been paid for its work. GOSR provided the subcontractor with a copy of one of the purported bonds so that the subcontractor could obtain payment from the insurance carrier. However, when the subcontractor contacted the insurance broker that allegedly issued the bond, the insurance broker said the bond was fraudulent. Thereafter, the insurance broker informed GOSR that each of the payment and performance bonds provided to GOSR were fraudulent. GOSR terminated its contracts with the construction company.
The projects cited in the complaint include ones in Inwood Gardens and Mill River Gardens that were funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Dhillon, of Staten Island, and Singh, of New Hyde Park, have each been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.
The charges contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The defendants were arraigned in Manhattan federal court on June 15 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office
Topics New York Fraud Windstorm Construction
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