More than a decade after Hurricane Sandy smashed into the Rockaway Peninsula and devastated low-lying coastal communities across south Queens, a Manhattan disaster relief consultant pleaded guilty to fraud in connection to his work for an Illinois-based consulting firm that provided recovery services to the city.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the city’s Department of Investigation (DOI) announced that Mark O’Mara, 41, surrendered Tuesday and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard Berman in Manhattan federal court.
“Instead of helping New York City recover from the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, Mark O’Mara helped himself by fraudulently obtaining housing benefits to which he was not entitled,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. “I commend the Department of Investigation and this office for holding to account those who conspire to defraud invaluable federal programs.”
According to court filings and statements, beginning in 2013, the city received billions of dollars in federal money to fund Hurricane Sandy-related recovery efforts and hired the Illinois-based company which employed O’Mara. Between 2013 and 2019, O’Mara submitted fraudulent information and documents, including a fraudulent lease agreement, to the city’s Office of Management and Budget to obtain lodging reimbursements from the city to which he was not entitled, federal prosecutors said.
Between 2017 and 2019, O’Mara also conspired with others, including another consultant named Walter Melnick, to defraud the city by falsely claiming that he was residing in an apartment purchased by an individual at Melnick’s direction. O’Mara fraudulently obtained more than $250,000 from the city via the Illinois-based company as a result of the schemes. In February 2020, when the city began raising concerns about the company’s travel reimbursement, O’Mara destroyed relevant emails and other communications to cover up the fraud.
Melnick previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit federal program fraud in a separate case. O’Mara is cooperating with the government.
“This defendant used Hurricane Sandy as an opportunity for personal profit through a scheme to pocket federal relief funds intended to help New Yorkers rebuild from this disaster,” DOI Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber said. “Today, he takes responsibility for that conduct, pleading guilty to federal offenses, including destroying evidence and agreeing to repay the city nearly $225,000, forfeit over a quarter-million dollars and pay any past-due taxes. DOI and our law enforcement partners in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York are committed to stopping frauds that durian public resources and holding accountable those who participate.”
O’Mara pleaded guilty to one count of federal program fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; one count of wire fraud in connection with a presidentially declared major disaster, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison; one count of conspiracy to commit federal program fraud and wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; and one count of destruction of evidence, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Under the terms of his plea agreement, O’Mara agreed to forfeit $258,900 and to pay restitution to NYC-OMB for $224,687.26.
