Nassau Engineering Firm, Manager Convicted of Doctoring Sandy Reports

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced on Tuesday the felony conviction of Matthew Pappalardo, 39, for unauthorized practice of engineering. Papparaldo, former Project Manager for Uniondale engineering firm HiRise Engineering, P.C., admitted in Nassau County Supreme Court to altering an engineering report prepared in connection with the assessment of structural damage of residential properties resulting from Superstorm Sandy. HiRise pleaded to the violation of fifth degree criminal solicitation and agreed to be permanently banned from receiving contracts and providing services under the Federal Emergency Management Association’s National Flood Insurance Program.

“Fraudulently altering engineering reports undermines the integrity of the entire NFIP claims process, which homeowners and families rely upon in a time of crisis,” said Schneiderman. “My office is committed to protecting homeowners and ensuring that their insurance claims are handled accurately and fairly. Today’s also conviction re-emphasizes the need for FEMA to implement the reforms to the National Flood Insurance Program identified by my office, so that when the next major storm hits, families can be confident that their claims are being handled professionally and reliably.”

According to statements made by prosecutors at arraignment on the indictment, after Superstorm Sandy in October 2012, HiRise was contracted to perform structural engineering assessments for properties covered under the NFIP. HiRise, in turn, retained numerous licensed professional engineers to perform house inspections and prepare engineering reports.

According to prosecutors, the original reports authored by the on-the-ground, subcontracted professional engineers were altered by employees of HiRise, under the direction of Pappalardo, the project manager. Pappalardo and the other HiRise employees who made the alterations to the original reports did not personally inspect the damaged buildings and were not licensed to practice engineering in New York . The altered reports were then submitted by HiRise, and ultimately provided to the adjusting firms, without the consent or approval of the underlying professional engineers. Federal flood claim administrators and adjusting firms then relied on these reports as part of their evaluation of coverage under the NFIP.

Pappalardo is expected to be sentenced on March 1 to three years’ probation and a $10,000 fine. In addition to being permanently banned from receiving contracts and providing services under the NFIP, HiRise paid $225,000 in costs of prosecution.

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