Worker Was Locked In Apartment, Never Paid For Bed-Stuy Paint Job: DA

BED-STUY, NY — The owner of a luxury contracting company failed to pay workers thousands in wages for a number of projects, including a paint job in Bed-Stuy, District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Wednesday.

Samy Garcia Caba, 30, owner of All Luxury Contracting Corp., now faces labor and fraud charges after prosecutor say he withheld $14,250 of wages from hired workers, Bragg contends.

And one of the schemes took place at a Bed-Stuy apartment building, Bragg said.

Prosecutors say Caba in 2022 picked up a worker at a Westchester County day laborer site promising payment for an eight-day paint job in Brooklyn.

Once on site, prosecutors allege Caba locked the worker in an apartment with a chain, and refused to let him out for lunch, according to Bragg.

The worker escaped after working the day through a restaurant at the back of the building — and he injured himself on the way out.

Despite repeated prompts from the worker, Caba never payed him.

And when the worker threatened to report the conditions, Caba threatened him with legal power: "GO AHEAD. I HAVE BETTER LAWYERS THAN YOU," he texted.

The Bed-Stuy project was one of multiple investigated by prosecutors. Caba's scheming lasted from June 2022 to April 2023, prosecutors said.

He frequently hired workers promising up to $250 a day — which he payed out partially at best. In just one month, Caba is accused of hiring and failing to properly pay at least 12 people for a project in Harlem, according to Bragg.