Long Island Man To Pay $30K For Sandy Contracting Scam: DA

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY - A Smithtown home improvement contractor charged with misappropriating state funds allocated to repair two homes damaged by Superstorm Sandy was ordered pay over $30,000 in restitution on Tuesday, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy D. Sini.

Lee Moser, 49, pleaded guilty to third degree grand larceny on March 22 and agreed to pay $31,110 in restitution, half of the total amount of restitution he owed, by his sentencing date, the DA said.

If he did not pay the required restitution amount, he faced a sentence of one year in prison.

Moser provided proof of the payment and was sentenced by Suffolk County Court Justice Timothy Mazzei to five years of probation, during which time he is required to pay the remaining $31,110 in restitution, according to the DA.

In 2016, Moser entered into contracts with two Lindenhurst residents to lift their respective homes, which sustained damage in 2012 during Superstorm Sandy, through his contracting business, Capstone Realty Holdings, Inc., the DA said.

The homeowners had received funding from the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery’s New York Rising Community Reconstruction Program for home improvement projects to prevent future flooding.

According to New York State Lien Law, Moser was required to hold the funds in trust and was only authorized to use the funds to pay for expenditures stemming from the lifting projects.

He is convicted of misappropriating those funds, using the victims’ money to fund unrelated home improvement projects and on personal expenses, the DA said.

Moser misappropriated $42,500 from one victim and $19,720 from the second victim for a total of $62,220, according to the DA.

If Moser fails to pay the remaining $31,110 in restitution during his probationary sentence, he could face a maximum sentence of two to seven years in prison.

“In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, we saw many residents who had suffered devastating damage to their homes become re-victimized by unscrupulous contractors,” Sini said. “Thanks to the hard work of Assistant District Attorney Tara Fairgrieve, this defendant is being held accountable for scamming Suffolk County residents in their time of need and is repaying his debts to the victims.”

Image via SCDA