Dive Brief:
- Two Brooklyn business owners and a 42-year-old woman face separate indictments for allegedly forging and selling dozens of fake safety cards to New York construction workers who never received required training, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez’s office announced last week.
- In November 2021, the New York City Housing Authority reported to the city’s Department of Investigation it had identified construction safety cards that had noticeable discrepancies as part of a routine check.
- The investigation resulted in the arrest of Latecia Moore, Alex Kaushanskiy and Benedetto Bonello, all from Brooklyn. They have been released without bail and are ordered to return to court in June.
Dive Insight:
As part of the investigation, the DOI executed a search warrant at Moore’s workplace, discovering computers, a card printer and counterfeit cards used to indicate that a worker has completed required safety courses approved by OSHA or Site Safety Training certification. The agency alleges she made and sold fake cards to customers for $200 to $650 each.
The DOI also says it made an undercover purchase of a fraudulent OSHA-30 card from Bonello at his company, National Site Safety, and purchased phony cards from Kaushanskiy’s company, Odessa Safety. Both defendants are authorized by OSHA to train workers, but the investigation alleges they sold cards without providing the training.
The defendants face multiple charges:
- Moore faces 10 counts of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, two counts of second-degree forgery and four counts of first-degree falsifying business records.
- Kaushanskiy and Odessa Safety face three counts of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument and three counts of first-degree falsifying business records.
- Bonello and National Site Safety face two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument.
“Evading regulations that ensure worksite safety training and certification is inexcusable and puts people’s lives at risk,” Gonzalez said in a statement. “Today’s indictments should send a strong message that when alleged fraudsters offer dangerous shortcuts, or attempt to profit by getting around safety requirements, they will face serious repercussions.”