Nearly $450K Returned to 80 Nassau County Workers As Part of a Multi-Pronged Approach to Labor Crimes
Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly’s office has uncovered more than $2 million in theft through multiple labor investigations and prosecutions since the start of the year and has returned more than $450,000 to 80 Nassau County workers who were victimized by companies that failed to pay proper wages.
“I am incredibly proud of the work done by my prosecutors in the Major Financial Frauds Bureau. Their continued diligence and determination have resulted in the recovery of millions of dollars this year in stolen wages and other funds. But this is not just about dollars and cents. It’s about justice for the hardworking men and women of Nassau County who were taken advantage of by heartless crooks,” said DA Donnelly. “We will continue to pursue every lead, work together with our partners in labor, and make sure that victims of labor crimes get the pay and protections that they rightfully deserve.”
New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon added, “These cases serve as a warning to bad actors … Combating wage theft continues to be a top priority for the Governor, and we will continue to collaborate with law enforcement to safeguard the rights of workers.”
“Wage theft is rampant in the construction industry. These crimes are intentional, systematic, and widespread, deeply embedded in the underground economy that fuels worker exploitation and undermines New York State taxpayers,” said Anthony Villa, business manager and president of Carpenters Local Union 290, North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters.
Donnelly announced the arrests of multiple individuals and companies for alleged crimes, including wage theft and workers’ compensation theft.
On September 8, Jason Sichel and Neil Sims, co-owners of Timeless Body II, LLC, a medspa in Garden City that provides surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures, were arraigned, along with the company, before Judge Maria Boultadakis on two counts of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree (a Class D felony); two counts of Grandy Larceny in the Fourth Degree and Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree (both Class E felonies); two counts of Failure to Pay Wages and Willful Failure to Pay Contributions (all unclassified misdemeanors).
Sichel and Sims allegedly told two prospective employees that they would be required to pay $6,000 each for training toward certificates to be hired. Each victim paid the defendants, but no training was ever provided. Once employed, the victims were allegedly tasked with performing procedures on customers for which they did not have proper training.
The defendants also allegedly failed to pay the women for their work at the medspa over a period of three weeks, approximately 150 total hours, despite repeated requests.
NCDA’s investigation also found that the company and both owners failed to register with the New York State Department of Labor and failed to contribute to the fund for Unemployment Insurance.
In total, Sichel and Sims, as owners of Timeless Body II, LLC, are charged with more than $16,000 in theft. They pleaded not guilty and are due back in court on September 19. They each face up to seven years in prison if convicted.
John R. Durso, president of the Long Island Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO said, “The District Attorney’s commitment to justice is clear. If you are a criminal employer in Nassau County, you will be held accountable. Our union movement will continue to work with District Attorney Donnelly to protect workers, return stolen wages, and make sure that honest employers are not undercut by criminals who cheat the system. Every worker deserves a fair day’s pay for an honest day’s work.”
NCDA Detective Investigators also arrested and charged a Rockville Centre business owner and his Queens-based iron and erection construction company on September 4, for an alleged $1.5 million workers’ compensation scheme.
Mahendranauth Khargie, 36, and his company, GC Stud Inc., were arraigned before Judge Lisa Locurto on three counts of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree and three counts of Insurance Fraud in the Second Degree (all Class C felonies); three counts of Effect of Failure to Secure Compensation under the New York Workers’ Compensation Law and three counts of Fraudulent Practices under the New York Workers’ Compensation Law (all Class E felonies).
Khargie allegedly maintained a hidden bank account discovered by New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF) investigators that the defendant had not reported to premium auditors during their legally required annual audits during three policy periods between April 2019 and March 2022.
Over the course of the alleged scheme, Khargie allegedly underreported his payroll to NYSIF by more than $3.5 million, resulting in underpayments of the company’s policy premiums of $1.54 million.
Khargie pleaded not guilty and is due back in court on September 17. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
“Insurance and labor fraud hurts workers, businesses, and the integrity of the entire system,” said NYSIF Executive Director and CEO Gaurav Vasisht. “Thanks to the diligence of NYSIF staff and our partners in law enforcement, this fraud was uncovered.”
NCDA’s labor crime attorneys also aggressively pursue companies for prevailing wage violations, ensuring workers are returned the money that they are owed and companies are held accountable.
On August 21, BJA Renovations Corporation, a North Babylon asbestos removal and demolition labor company, was sentenced in a prevailing wage theft that stole more than $80,000 from workers on public work projects at schools in the Merrick and Oceanside Union Free School Districts between 2019 and 2021.
BJA Renovations Corp. was sentenced to a three-year Conditional Discharge on August 21 and is prohibited from performing any public work projects in New York State for five years. The company’s president, Nicholas Barnett, was sentenced in May 2025 to three years’ probation. Like BJA Renovations Corp., Barnett is also prohibited from performing any public work projects in New York State for five years.
As part of the company’s sentence, BJA Renovations Corp. was ordered to pay $63,000 to the New York State Department of Labor for its failure to pay Unemployment Insurance Contributions.
The final co-defendant, Joseph Demasco, is scheduled to be sentenced on November 25, 2025, where he is to pay $81,592 in underpaid wages to more than 40 workers or face up to 3 years in jail. Demasco also faces a prohibition from performing public work in New York for five years.
Donnelly’s Major Financial Frauds Bureau also resolved an additional five cases since January 2025 with non-prosecution agreements, getting money back into workers’ pockets and forcing companies to change their practices.
The agreements resulted in the return of $363,000 to 37 workers in the construction and agriculture industries in Nassau County, including nearly $130,000 for a worker who was denied prevailing wages on a job.
“The Nassau County Department of Labor has an open-door policy for any wage theft, Prevailing Wage misclassifications, compensation and insurance fraud or for any violation that can be prosecuted,” said county Labor Commissioner Christopher Fusco. “We work in collaboration with the Nassau Suffolk Building Trades Council, the Long Island Federation of Labor, and the Long Island Contractors Association and have a direct line of communication to the District Attorney’s Office, resulting in felony arrests and restitution. Nassau County labor attorneys and detectives leave no stone unturned.”
“For years, the honor system of certifying employee payroll and paying required wages has been corruptly mishandled by pirate contractors betraying public trust and exploiting workers who are not paid in full for their labor or their time. Wage theft is often accompanied by many other crimes, including the mishandling of hazardous materials in public buildings, insurance fraud and tax fraud,” said Vincent Alu, Business Manager of Laborers Local 66. “Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly and her team have our unwavering respect and gratitude for drawing a line in the sand. If you plan to utilize public money on our community construction projects, do it lawfully. The consequences pile up quickly when you don’t and this team of prosecutors will not tolerate it.”
“Too often, workers put in long hours building and serving our communities only to be robbed of the pay and protections they’ve earned,” said Joseph Azzopardi, business manager and secretary-treasurer of District Council 9. “By holding unscrupulous employers accountable and returning hard-earned wages, the DA is sending a clear message that workers will be protected and not be exploited in Nassau County.”