Oil Delivery Scam Defrauded PS 20, Brooklyn Tech, And The Brooklyn War Memorial, Says Manhattan DA

P.S. 20, Brooklyn Technical High School, and the Brooklyn War Memorial at Cadman Plaza are among scores of victims cheated by oil companies in a city-wide scam to short customers on their heating oil deliveries, the Manhattan District Attorney revealed Tuesday.

Authorities indicted nine companies and 44 individuals connected to a nine-year scheme that defrauded heating oil customers at New York hospitals, churches, police precincts, fire houses, residential buildings and homeless shelters. According to investigators, the scammers employed sophisticated methods to trick customers into thinking they were getting their money’s worth. The surplus oil was then sold at reduced prices on the black market, the DA said.

“No illicit business or black market can be allowed to operate while honest New Yorkers are working hard to keep their homes warm during colder months,” said DA Cyrus Vance. “The victims of these alleged schemes include all those who managed, worked, or lived in the affected buildings, as well as the city itself—and when schools, hospitals, and police precincts were shorted—it was residents and taxpayers who paid the price and suffered the consequences.”

The Brooklyn-based company Enterprise Transportation, Inc was responsible for shorting deliveries at PS 20, according to the DA’s office. The company was charged with fraud, grand larceny, falsifying business records, and corruption.

Fellow Brooklyn-based company 4th Avenue Transport overcharged/stole from Brooklyn Tech and the city, which maintained the Brooklyn War Memorial. They have been charged with fraud, falsifying business records, corruption, and grand larceny — all felonies.

The city Department of Education declined to comment about the scam committed at Brooklyn Tech and P.S. 20.

According to the DA’s office, the companies used a range of methods to conceal the actual amount of heating oil delivered to customers and evade regulatory controls. In some cases, the companies diverted heating oil through a hidden valve that lead back into the delivery truck. They would also use a magnet to manipulate the meter’s air gauge to allow air to flow to the customer instead of oil.

Some of the company dispatchers received money to direct truck drivers to locations that were considered to be easy targets, according to investigators.

“These wide-reaching schemes had real financial implications for the City and its taxpayers, and we must focus our attention and resources on plans to stop them in the future,” said Department of Investigation Commissioner Mark G. Peters.

The other heating oil companies charged in the case are F&S Distribution, Inc., G&D Petroleum Transportation, Inc., G&D Heating Oil Inc., Casanova Fuel Oil, Express Petroleum, Inc., All-Boro Transportation, Inc., and Century Star Fuel Corp.

The Manhattan DA’s Office said it has filed seven civil lawsuits against the indicted defendants in order to recover the money stolen from the victims.

To protect yourself from various frauds, schemes, and scams by delivery companies, check out this detailed report, from by the Department of Investigation and city Business Integrity Commission.