Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., announced the indictment of BENEDETTO CUPO, 66, the owner of concrete construction firms EASTLAND ASSOC. CORP., EASTLAND SERVICES CORP., and IMN GROUP, INC., for multiple alleged frauds including the theft of more than $1.6 million in COVID-related loans, $3 million wage theft from his employees, defrauding the New York State Insurance Fund (“NYSIF”) of more than $1.1 million, and expansive criminal tax fraud. CUPO is charged in a New York State Supreme Court Indictment with multiple counts of Grand Larceny in the First and Second Degrees, Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, and Criminal Tax Fraud in the Second and Third Degrees, among other charges.[1]
The 30-count indictment is the result of an investigation conducted by the Manhattan D.A.’s Rackets Bureau with assistance from multiple law enforcement and government partners, including NYSIF, the New York City Business Integrity Commission (“BIC”), New York City Department of Finance (“NYC DOF”), New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), New York State Department of Labor (“NYS DOL”), New York State Department of Taxation and Finance (“NYS Tax”), and the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”).
“As alleged, Benedetto Cupo orchestrated numerous frauds over the course of years, stealing millions from hard-working New Yorkers’ wages and the public funds they rely on when hurt on the job,” said District Attorney Bragg. “Despite never filing tax returns or remitting his workers’ withholdings, we allege, his companies fraudulently secured substantial PPP loans at the height of the pandemic. This case exemplifies the work that my office’s Rackets Bureau does each and everyday: protect New Yorkers’ wages and New York’s public fisc by uncovering corruption and fraud. I thank them for their work on this case, as well as the numerous partners who helped make this prosecution possible.”
$1.6 Million COVID-19 Loan Fraud
As alleged in court documents and according to statements made on the record in court, for more than 20 years CUPO has owned and operated multiple concrete construction firms that perform foundation, concrete superstructure, masonry, and waterproofing work, including EASTLAND ASSOC. CORP (“EAC”), EASTLAND SERVICES CORP. (“ESC”), and IMN GROUP, INC. (“IMN”).
On April 17, 2020, CUPO submitted an application for a $1,009,990 COVID-19 related Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loan to an SBA-approved lender. In the application, CUPO falsely certified that EAC had employees for whom it paid payroll taxes. EAC received the loan on May 1, 2020.
On January 19, 2021, CUPO submitted a second PPP loan application for $625,000, asserting that he was the full owner of EAC despite falsely listing an associate as the owner on a NYSIF application executed two weeks prior. EAC received the loan on March 23, 2021. The next day, CUPO transferred $400,000 to IMN, from which he withdrew more than $67,000 for payments to himself and his ex-wife, golf and country club membership dues, and cash withdrawals.
Both applications, contained multiple false statements and falsified supporting documents, including fabricated tax returns and Statement of Account documents. In 2021, CUPO applied to have the loans forgiven, similarly submitting false statements and falsified documents.
In fact, EAC never paid state, local, or any associated payroll taxes, as further described below. The loans were forgiven in whole based on the false applications and supporting documents.
$3 Million Wage Theft & Expansive Criminal Tax Fraud
As further alleged in court documents, both EAC and IMN failed to file tax returns from 2020 to 2023. Their annual tax liabilities ranged between $11,000 and $100,000.
Additionally, between 2019 and 2023, CUPO withheld more than $3 million from his employees’ wages purportedly to cover their federal, state, local, and other tax obligations. Instead of remitting them to the appropriate government agency, CUPO allegedly stole the funds.
Hundreds of employees were impacted. Many were billed for unpaid taxes or had difficulties obtaining tax refunds and unemployment insurance.
$1.1 Million New York State Insurance Fund Fraud
Finally, as alleged in court documents, in 2020 and 2021, CUPO obtained two different NYSIF workers’ compensation insurance policies on behalf of EAC by providing materially false information. For instance, CUPO claimed that EAC had less than ten employees, when in reality, EAC typically employed more than 100 people, including laborers, carpenters, and rebar workers.
Between August 20, 2021, and August 24, 2023, EAC employees filed more than 20 claims related to workplace injuries, many of which occurred on Manhattan jobsites. Because CUPO had never registered his companies as employers, the New York State Department of Labor had no work records pertaining to any of the claimants. After examining EAC’s financial records, NYSIF determined that its insurance premium fraud totaled more than $1.1 million.
District Attorney Bragg thanked the numerous agencies that supported this investigation, particularly NYC DOF’s Auditor LaToya Fleming; NYPD Detective Jeremy Natal; NYSIF’s Division of Confidential Investigations, including Supervising Investigator Elaine Leach and Auditor Winston Sapigao; NYS Tax’s Auditor Ellen Cheu; NYS DOL’s Auditor Ladislao Batista, Jr.; and U.S. SBA attorneys Kandace Zelaya and Rachel Dodd.
[1] The charges contained in the indictment are merely allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. All factual recitations are derived from documents filed in court and statements made on the record in court.
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