Brighton Beach Contractor Cheated Workers Out Of Wages On JFK Airport Project, Ordered To Pay $200,000

The boss of a Brighton Beach-based construction firm was convicted of ripping off his own workers, failing to pay them required wages on a job at JFK Airport, and will now have to dole out $200,000 in backpay as part of his sentence.

Leonid Fridman, 60, owns Millenium Commercial Corporation, located at 200 Brighton 15th Street. The company was hired as a subcontractor for tile restoration in the renovation of the TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy Airport in 2009 and 2010, where he was required to pay employees prevailing wages on the taxpayer funded project – $50 per hour for laborers and $70 for tile setters. Instead, he doled out as little as $10 per hour, according to Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

To hide the deceit, Fridman made phony documents, including payroll reports and fake paychecks.

“Mr. Fridman is being held accountable for stealing wages from workers who renovated parts of JFK,” said Schneiderman in a statement. “My office will continue to take strong action, including filing criminal charges, against employers who violate New York’s labor laws, steal taxpayer dollars and violate the public trust.”

Fridman pleaded guilty to grand larceny in the second degree, and agreed to pay $200,000 in restitution. He’s also banned from working on public works projects for five years, and is sentenced to five years of probation.