$750K In Restitution Owed To Workers, NYS, Recovered By Suffolk: DA

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — Suffolk and New York officials recovered approximately $750,000 in restitution owed to workers and the state after securing agreements and convictions from numerous businesses that committed theft, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney announced Thursday.

"Suffolk County residents who work hard to earn an honest living deserve to be compensated fairly for their hard work," Tierney said in a statement. "Several of the businesses we held accountable have either shortchanged their employees’ wages, or found ways to circumvent the system and line their own pockets with money while emptying the pockets of the same people who contribute to their businesses’ success. My office will continue to fight against the fraudulent and illegal practices of corporations when they fail to pay employees for their honest labor and will also strive to recover any funds unlawfully obtained by companies defrauding workers."

This past year, the Suffolk DA's office worked with its Wage Theft Prevention Task Force partners to return the proper wages owed to employees.

Although the coronavirus pandemic and the shutdown "severely curtailed" the office's capabilities to pursue long-term labor related crime operations, the DA said, its investigative staff recovered the funds, which led to numerous arrests.

"Many of the victimized employees finally saw justice when their cases were resolved in the past year," the DA wrote.

Some of those cases include:

• Tri-State Construction Of New York Corp. of Flushing: Between June 2018 and August 2018, while the company worked on a capital improvement project for the Huntington Union Free School District, it failed to pay its employees the mandated wages and overtime wages, authorities said. The corporation was charged in August 2020 and pleaded guilty on March 28, 2022 to willful failure to pay the prevailing wage and supplements (a Class E felony). As part of the plea, the company paid back $121,530 in restitution to 14 employees who worked on the school district project.
• Goldstar Installation Services, Inc., aka The Floor Worx of NY, Inc. of Selden: From July 2016 to July 2019, while working on public works projects throughout Suffolk County, the company misclassified 12 employees in order to avoid paying them their mandated wage rate for public works contracts, the DA said. On Feb. 27, 2020, Paul Gilistro, 59, the principal agent of the corporation, and the corporation itself, were charged with criminal complaints, officials said. Both the corporation and Gilistro pleaded guilty on April 7, 2022 to second-degree scheme to defraud (a Class A misdemeanor). As part of their plea agreement, the company paid $40,000 upfront in restitution to the workers and an additional $40,000 to be paid through probation.
• Bob 1232 Jericho Corp. aka DHCW Inc., of Huntington, operating as Dix Hills Brushless Car Wash: Between 2014 and 2017, the business failed to pay its employees the statutory minimum and overtime wage rates for hours worked, officials said. This business additionally submitted a fraudulent New York State Department of Labor NYS-45 form containing false information in order to avoid paying unemployment contributions, prosecutors said. The corporation pleaded guilty on March 23, 2022 to second-degree offering a false instrument for filing (a Class A misdemeanor) and was required to recompense $120K in restitution to their 11 employees and reimburse the New York State Unemployment Insurance Fund its required contributions, authorities said.
• APJ Restoration Inc. of St. James: Between August 2015 and August 2016, the corporation knowingly underreported their gross sales on documents submitted to the New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF), officials said. On Feb. 27, 2020, the corporation and its principal agent, Alan James, 71, were charged and both later pleaded guilty on April 29, 2022 to second-degree falsifying a business record (a Class A misdemeanor). James is due back in court for sentencing on March 27, 2023. The defendants agreed to pay $32,575.63 owed in workers’ compensation insurance premiums due to the NYSIF.
• Jernail Singh, 64, of Glen Head, owner and principal agent of MH One Enterprise, Inc., a gas station and convenience store in Brentwood: Between October 2015 to January 2019, the business underpaid 19 employees by paying them below the minimum wage rate and did not pay their employees overtime wages if they worked more than 40 hours a week, authorities said. Singh routinely made false promises to the employees to pay them properly for the time they worked, and threatened them if they complained to the New York State Department of Labor about the underpayments and the poor working conditions, the DA said. In addition, Singh bullied one employee by threatening to contact immigration authorities and falsely report him to the police for a crime the employee did not commit, prosecutors said. In another instance, after an employee complained to the New York State Department of Labor about his working conditions, Singh retaliated by contacting the employee’s subsequent employers in an attempt to get that employee terminated, officials said. Singh was arrested on Dec. 15, 2020. On July 6, 2022, he pleaded guilty to second-degree scheme to defraud (a Class A misdemeanor) and prohibited retaliation (a Class B misdemeanor). As part of his plea agreement, Singh paid nearly $240,000 in restitution to cover the amount he owed to his employees and the New York State Department of Labor, the DA said. He was sentenced to three years of probationary supervision.
• Alpha Carting and Contracting Services Inc. of Bay Shore: Between June 2016 and May 2018, the corporation systematically underpaid four employees by reducing their wages below the statutory prevailing wage rate while they collected solid waste in Lake Grove, the DA said. The corporation was charged on May 11, 2021, and pleaded guilty on Aug. 30, 2022 to second-degree scheme to defraud (a Class A misdemeanor). As part of the plea, they paid $96,732 to the affected employees and the New York State Department of Labor, authorities said.
• Woodstock Construction Group LTD of Bayville: From November 2016 to May 2017, the company misclassified 19 employees and failed to pay them the statutory prevailing wage rate and overtime wages for hours worked in excess of 40 hours a week while working on the public works projects, officials said. Those projects were the Gilgo Beach Marina Dock Reconstruction Project in the Town of Babylon and the Bayport Beach Breakwater and Reconstruction Project in Town of Islip, authorities said. On Feb. 27, 2020, the corporation was charged, and on July 13, 2022, it pleaded guilty to second-degree scheme to defraud (a Class A misdemeanor) conditioned on the corporation paying back $66,776 to its employees for the underpayment of their wages, the DA said.

"Any employer who steals from their workers will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law inNew York State," said Roberta Reardon, New York State Department of Labor commissioner. "I thank Suffolk County District Attorney Tierney for being a steadfast ally in our fight against wage theft and for ensuring justice for the victims."

Tierney thanked his office's Wage Theft Prevention Task Force partners for recovering the money.