FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
Long Island Man Indicted for Allegedly Stealing $305,000 by
Charging Bergen Beach Woman for Plumbing Work That Wasn’t Performed
Allegedly Falsely Claimed to be a Licensed Plumber
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a Long Island man has been arraigned on an indictment in which he is charged with grand larceny for allegedly stealing approximately $305,000 from a Brooklyn homeowner by charging for a large-scale plumbing renovation project that he was not qualified to perform.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This defendant allegedly carried out a brazen scheme by fraudulently holding himself out as a licensed plumber and taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from a homeowner for work that was not performed. This was a devastating outcome for the victim, and we will now seek to hold the defendant accountable for his criminal actions.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Amedeo Ali, 46, of Dix Hills, New York. He was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Michael Kitsis on an indictment in which he is charged with second-degree grand larceny. He was released without bail and ordered to return to court on April 10, 2024.
The District Attorney said that on November 5, 2020, the defendant was hired to renovate a two-story house on East 67th Street in Bergen Beach, Brooklyn. The job included significant plumbing work, and the defendant allegedly held himself out to be a licensed plumber who was qualified to do the job.
The defendant allegedly gave the victim a business card with the name of a plumbing business and a master plumber’s license number. In fact, it is alleged, the defendant was not licensed and was using the license number of a legitimate plumber without that person’s knowledge or consent.
The defendant allegedly agreed in a written contract that for $170,000 he would, among other things, re-pipe the kitchen and bathroom, install a new heating system, and do cement work. In the months that followed, the defendant claimed that various issues were coming up and periodically asked the victim for additional payments beyond the agreed upon price.
By November 22, 2021, it is alleged, the victim had paid the defendant a total of $305,000. The first floor was still substantially demolished. The defendant allegedly demanded more money before he would return and finish the job, but the victim refused. Instead, she eventually hired a new company, which asked her for information pertaining to the defendant’s business and licensing.
Finally, it is alleged, after a search of public records, the victim learned the defendant was not a licensed plumber and paid the new company $125,000 to fix what the defendant had done and to properly complete the renovations.
The case was investigated by a Detective Investigator from the District Attorney’s Investigations Bureau following a complaint that was made to the District Attorney’s Action Center.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorneys Joseph P. McGurk and Jessica White of the District Attorney’s Frauds Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Pamela Murray, Deputy Chief of the Frauds Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Gregory Pavlides, Chief of the Frauds Bureau, under the overall supervision of Assistant District Attorney Michel Spanakos, Deputy Chief of the Investigations Division and Assistant District Attorney Patricia McNeill, Chief of Investigations.
#
An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.