Leader of Fraudulent Scheme Sentenced to Four Years in Prison

Liaquat Cheema, the president of AFL Construction Co. Inc., was sentenced to four years in prison for his role in a fraudulent scheme that stole millions of dollars in public funds intended for maintenance at homeless shelters in New York City. Cheema and others used public contracts to fraudulently enrich themselves, submitting false invoices and documentation, and inflating amounts paid for materials. The scheme, which lasted from 2014 to 2017, also involved obtaining tens of thousands of dollars' worth of Medicaid benefits through false certifications.

Key Takeaways:

• Liaquat Cheema, the president of AFL Construction Co. Inc., was sentenced to four years in prison for his role in a fraudulent scheme that stole millions of dollars in public funds.
• The scheme involved submitting false invoices and documentation, inflating amounts paid for materials, and obtaining tens of thousands of dollars' worth of Medicaid benefits through false certifications.
• Cheema and others used public contracts worth approximately $12 million to perform general contracting work at homeless shelters in New York City.
• The scheme lasted from 2014 to 2017 and involved numerous individuals, including those who worked at AFL Construction Co. Inc.
• Cheema agreed to pay back the money misappropriated from Medicaid as part of his guilty plea.
• The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York praised the outstanding investigative work of the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General and the New York City Department of Investigation.
• Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy V. Capozzi is in charge of the prosecution.

Statistics:

• The scheme involved public contracts worth approximately $12 million.
• The amount of money misappropriated from Medicaid was not specified.
• Cheema was sentenced to four years in prison and two years of supervised release.
• The court ordered Cheema to pay restitution and forfeiture in the amount of $3,267,811.

Sources:

• United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.
• U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.
• New York City Department of Investigation.