Contractor Scammed Nassau Sandy Victims During Recovery: DA

After years of investigation, Nassau District Attorney Madeline Singas announced Friday that a home improvement contractor from Brooklyn has been arrested and charged with scamming Hurricane Sandy victims out of almost $400,000.

Richard Holowchak, 53, was charged with three counts of second-degree grand larceny, two counts of third-degree grand larceny and first-degree scheme to defraud. He is due back in court on Jan. 17. If convicted of the top charge, he could face up to 15 years in prison.

"This defendant is accused of preying on innocent Nassau County residents who just lost their homes to the most destructive storm to ever hit our area," Singas said. "Crooked contractors target desperate homeowners and I encourage anyone who may have been victimized by a contractor to reach out to our office or the Office of Consumer Affairs and report the incident."

According to Singas, in the months following Hurricane Sandy, Holowchak and his business, Blue Diamond Construction Management Inc., sought business from victims of the storm and even obtained a contractor’s booth at the Disaster Relief Center in Freeport. Singas said that Holowchak met five homeowners who signed contracts with him to perform construction work on their homes. All five of the victims’ homes suffered significant damage during the storm.

After entering the contract, Holowchak was paid either directly by the victims’ insurance companies or by the victims themselves. In most of the cases, little or no repair or construction work was performed to the homes. In total, Holowchak allegedly stole $394,500.

Checks received by Holowchak were often cashed at check cashing facilities, while some of the checks received were deposited into bank accounts for his business, Singas said. Holowchak is accused of spending business funds from various linked Blue Diamond Construction bank accounts on boating and fishing-related expenses, meals, a large purchase on the website Travelocity and smaller purchases on Netflix and Fandango.

The district attorney's office received the first complaint from the Nassau County Office of Consumer Affairs in December 2014.

Photo: Nassau County District Attorney's Office