Brooklyn’s
U.S. Attorney has agreed to defer prosecution of Lend Lease (U.S.) Construction
LMB, Inc., [formerly Bovis Lend Lease] based the agreement of the firm and its
former top New York City executive James Abadie to pay $56 million in fines and
victim compensation for a ten year long overbilling scheme involving timesheet
padding and other abuses. Abadie left Lend Lease in 2009 at the start of the
federal criminal investigation into overbilling mail fraud.
According
to settlement documents, Abadie “explicitly and fraudulently directed his
subordinates to carry out the practice of adding unworked hours to labor
foremen’s timesheets, knowing that these unworked hours were billed to clients.” Lend Lease also admits MBE/WBE fraud in that
it self-performed work it claimed was
subcontracted to minority or woman owned businesses, particularly in building a
Bronx courthouse in 2000. Other projects affected by the overbilling include a
Post Office in Brooklyn, Mets’ baseball stadium in Queens, and demolition of a
high rise damages in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
While prosecution
of the business entity has been deferred, Abadie faces $250,000 in fines and 20
years in prison in the ongoing criminal prosecution against him. Lend Lease has
agreed to hire a full time auditor to vet union labor timesheets in New York
City.
