Company That Built City Schools Stiffed Workers Out Of $300K: DA

EAST NEW YORK, NY – Owners of a construction company that won city contracts to build schools have pleaded guilty to grand larceny, District Attorney Eric Gonzalez and Department of Investigation Commissioner Mark Peters announced on Monday.

The East New York-based Urban Group was awarded city funds to work on schools in the Bronx and Brooklyn, then underpaid employees and illegally kept the difference.

The workers will be paid $303,410.97. They had been paid $10 to $17 per hour, instead of the going rate of $62 to $63 per hour.

The company will also be barred from receiving any public funds or city contracts for the next five years.

By hiring non-contract day laborers, the Urban Group scammed them out of their full wages and benefits, then falsely reported to the city that they had received the full wage, the DA said.

“This company got lucrative city contracts and then shamelessly stole money from its workers," Gonzalez said.

"DOI is proud to stand with the Brooklyn District Attorney to make these workers whole and together we will continue to pursue construction companies who fail to pay employees their rightful, lawful wages," Peters said.

Image credit: Shutterstock / Benoit Daoust