Salvador Almonte Jr. Pleaded Guilty to Evading Insurance Premiums, Must Pay $500,000 in Restitution
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner
Jocelyn E. Strauber, and New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang today announced the sentencing
of SALVADOR ALMONTE, JR., 42, an unlicensed labor broker, for carrying out an extensive insurance
fraud scheme. ALMONTE underreported the size of his companies and lied to insurance carriers about
the work being performed by his employees in order to evade more than $1 million in insurance
premiums, leaving more than one hundred construction workers underinsured.
ALMONTE pleaded guilty on March 29, 2023, to Insurance Fraud in the Second Degree and Fraudulent
Practices in violation of Workers’ Compensation Law. He was sentenced to five years’ probation and is
required to pay $500,000 in restitution to the New York State Insurance Fund.
This case is part of the Office’s continued efforts to protect workers from predatory practices and unsafe
work conditions. Agencies of the Construction Fraud Task Force joined to investigate this case.
“Salvador Almonte Jr. put workers’ lives at risk by lying to insurance companies and the State of New
York. Instead of receiving the medical insurance and disability pay they deserved, his employees were left
exposed and vulnerable because of his criminal conduct,” said District Attorney Bragg. “We will continue
to work alongside our law enforcement partners to ensure the strongest protections for hard-working New
Yorkers who put their safety at risk to keep this city moving.”
DOI Commissioner Strauber said, “Salvador Almonte Jr. had a legal – and ethical -- obligation to his
workers to provide proper insurance coverage, but instead used fraud and deception to reduce the
premiums he paid. His self-serving scheme left workers in a high risk industry with inadequate or zero
coverage for themselves and their families. DOI and our partners at the Manhattan District Attorney’s
Office and the New York State Inspector General’s Office remain steadfast in our determination to protect
construction workers in New York City and to root out this type of reckless fraud.”
“This brazen fraud put contractors’ safety and financial security at risk in the name of profits,”
said Inspector General Lang. “I am grateful for our partnership with the New York City Department of
Investigation in rooting out those who would imperil the vital safety net provided by the workers’
compensation insurance system, and to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for ensuring
accountability.”
As admitted by the defendant in his plea allocution in court, from January 2015 to late 2018, ALMONTE
ran an insurance fraud scheme in which he made false representations to insurance carriers, including
NYSIF, to secure workers’ compensation insurance coverage at fraudulently reduced prices.
More than one hundred workers working on dangerous high-rise construction jobs were left underinsured
because of this scheme.
ALMONTE operated a multi-million-dollar construction labor supply business in New York City as an
unlicensed labor broker. His companies – including Power Services Solutions LLC, Power Services of
New York, Inc., South Side Services, Inc., and North Star Strategy, Inc. – provided workers to construction
companies.
ALMONTE evaded premiums from the New York State Insurance Fund by misrepresenting the true size
and work being performed with the help of STEVEN ASVAZADOURIAN, a former insurance broker.
Workers’ compensation insurance premiums are based on a company’s annual payroll and the risk
involved in the type of work done by its employees. For instance, ALMONTE would tell insurance
companies that cleaning or interior carpentry tasks were being done while his workers were engaged in
high-rise superstructure projects.
ALMONTE refused to cooperate with the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board after injured
workers submitted claims for their work-related injuries. His refusal to acknowledge that he employed the
injured workers meant the Board could not assign insurance coverage and disability pay delayed for workers.
At times, ALMONTE supplied labor for projects completed by SSC High Rise, Inc., which pleaded guilty to
Manslaughter in the Second Degree in 2018 for causing the death of construction worker Juan Chonillo
ALMONTE’s co-defendant ASVAZADOURIAN, pleaded guilty in August of 2020 to Insurance Fraud in the
Second Degree, a class C felony, and Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, a class E felony, and to a
violation of the workers compensation law regarding false statements in procuring workers’ compensation
insurance. He paid $100,000 to the New York State Insurance Fund and carried a sentence of three
years’ probation, 800 hours of community service, and permanently surrendered his insurance broker
license.
D.A. Bragg thanked the New York State Insurance Fund, especially Jessica Silver, Director of
Investigations, NYSIF Division of Confidential Investigations; Michael Totaro, Assistant Secretary to the
NYSIF Board of Commissioners; Investigator Maliaka Williams; and Senior Auditors Aura Villanueva and
Granville Mo. D.A. Bragg additionally thanked the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey Inspector
General and the Metropolitan Transit Authority Inspector General for their ongoing contributions to the
Construction Fraud Task Force.
