APA NEWS
Fraud Prosecutions
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Guilty Pleas to Falsifying Reports on Hurricane Sandy Damage
A Long Island engineering company and one of its former executives pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges that they had deliberately falsified engineering reports of homes battered by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. (Via New York Times)
Engineering Firm Charged with Over 50 Counts in Fraud Scandal
On Feb. 18, 2014, officers from state Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman’s office raided the Uniondale offices of HiRise Engineering P.C., responding to allegations of fraud involving flood insurance reports prepared after Hurricane Sandy. On Monday, Schneiderman’s office unsealed a 50-count indictment charging Matthew Pappalardo, 38, of Whitestone, Queens, and HiRise with altering engineering reports that assessed the structural damage of residential properties resulting from the storm. (Via LIHerald.com)
Superstorm Sandy fraud investigation
A local engineering firm is accused of cheating Superstorm Sandy victims out of insurance money. Matthew Pappalardo did not talk to reporters as he left the Nassau County Criminal Courthouse in Mineola, Long Island, Monday. He pleaded not guilty to fraud, forgery, and practicing engineering without a license. (Via FOX 5)
Were Hurricane Sandy damage reports altered to reduce payments to homeowners? Hearing is this week
A three-judge panel for the Eastern District of New York will hold a hearing on Thursday to review allegations that engineering reports were altered to reduce flood-insurance payments to homeowners. Lawyers for homeowners say they have identified more than 500 altered reports, the New York Times reports. The lawyers began the review after a federal judge overseeing Sandy litigation in the New York City area ordered production of all drafts of the reports. (Via ABA Journal)
Indictment: Engineering firm altered Sandy damage reports
A New York engineering firm that was hired by insurance companies to evaluate damage caused by Superstorm Sandy faces charges that it illegally altered reports prepared by inspectors in the field. An indictment unsealed Monday charges HiRise Engineering and one of the company’s project managers, Matthew Pappalardo, with felony fraud. Pappalardo also faces charges of practicing engineering without a license. (Via Times Standard)
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