George Cole, 65, will also have to perform 100 hours of community service and restore $110,000 to employees of his firm, Cole NYC LLC. The Manhattan DA’s Office is using its Stolen Wage Fund to cover the remaining amount owed to the workers.
Cole was convicted by the New York State Supreme Court of two counts of forgery, one count of a scheme to defraud, two counts of offering a false instrument for filing and one count of failure to secure compensation.
Spending spree
The theft was carried out over a 14-month period between February 2022 and April 2023. During this period, Cole spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on his girlfriends, concert tickets, floral arrangements, a Mercedes Benz, and other luxury purchases.
He also cashed more than $2m at Pay-O-Matic during this time, including on days when he refused to pay his workers.
According to court documents and statements made on the record, and as admitted in the defendant’s guilty plea, Cole failed to maintain his New York State Insurance Fund policy while continuing to take on rigging jobs throughout the City.
On 1 July, 2022, Cole submitted a forged certificate of insurance to the New York City Department of Buildings with inaccurate dates and a QR code linking to a website that stated his insurance coverage ended on 28 November 2021. He also submitted a similarly forged certificate to the Port Authority on 2 August, 2022, pertaining to work being done at the Oculus in Lower Manhattan.
Withholding wages with insults
He also stole from the wages of seven different employees. One employee is owed at least $48,000 for 20 weeks of work. Cole gave his employees partial payments, made excuses for the missing wages, and insulted them when they asked for full payment.
Jocelyn Strauber, commissioner of the Department of Investigations, said in a press statement that Cole had failed to pay workers their true compensation and had failed to “maintain legally required insurance to protect them in the dangerous job of repairing and maintaining the city’s skyscrapers”.
Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan DA who prosecuted the case, said Cole had used the money to “purchase lavish personal items”. He said: “Every worker in Manhattan deserves to receive each dollar they make, and my office will continue to create accountability for those who jeopardise that. We were also proud to use our Stolen Wage Fund to make these workers whole.”
John Gay, the Port Authority Inspector General, added: “This individual put workers in harm’s way, stole their wages, and forged official documents to cover up their wrongdoing and keep the fraud going.
“These reckless actions are intolerable, jeopardising the safety of both workers and the public at some of our busiest facilities that are used by millions of commuters and visitors. We’re grateful to our local, state and federal partners who helped deliver justice in this case.”
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