Two Long Island Men Charged With Creating Fake Applications For Sandy Disaster Relief: Officials

Two Long Island men were among those recently charged with stealing $300,000 in disaster relief funds by creating fake applications to the New York City Build it Back program which was created after Superstorm Sandy in 2012, officials said Wednesday.

John Holl, 73, of East Meadow, and John Phelan, 54, of Syosset, allegedly filed a fake application with BIB to repair a homes in Breezy Point, officials said.

In 2013, Holl applied for assistance through the program by falsely claiming that a property on 17 Doris Lane was his primary residence, according to officials.

The application was approved in June 2016, and as a result, Holl fraudulently obtained $86,560 for reconstruction of the property, when, in fact, the investigation showed his primary residence was held in East Meadow, officials said.

Phelan filed a false application to repair his and his mother secondary home on 58 Reid Avenue in Breezy Point by listing himself as a co-applicant with his mother on a BIB application submitted in October 2013.

Only Phelan's signature appears on the application, which claimed the property was his and his mother’s primary residence. The application was approved in June 2016, and as a result, Phelan fraudulently obtained $66,371 for reconstruction of the property, officials said.

The investigation found the his and his mother’s primary residences were held in Syosset and Maspeth, Queens, respectively, according to officials.

In addition, George Bonitsis 67, of Brooklyn, also allegedly filed a fake application with the program, officials said.

All three were charged with second degree grand larceny and first degree offering a false instrument for filing, officials said.

If charged, they could face up to 15 years in prison.

“The defendants are accused of using one of the worst natural disasters to ever strike New York in recent history to unjustly enrich themselves by applying for public funds to which they were not entitled," Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said.