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  The Offices of the Manhattan D.A., NYC Department of Investigations, and NYC Department of Buildings Announce the Indictment of Valor Security for Operating Sham Safety Training School with Approx. 20k “Students”
  

  The following describes a pending government action that has been formally brought by a government agency but has not yet been resolved. We are providing a summary of the governments allegations, which have not yet been proven.

  On February 28, 2024, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr., New York City Department of Investigation (“DOI”) Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber, and New York City Department of Buildings (“DOB”) Commissioner Jimmy Oddo announced the New York State Supreme Court indictment of VALOR SECURITY & INVESTIGATIONS (“VALOR”), including six of its executives and employees, for operating a sham safety training school. Between December 2019 and April 2023, VALOR issued safety certificates and cards to approximately 20,000 students. As alleged, the defendants issued cards for a fee certifying the required 40 hours of safety training for individuals working at construction sites without providing training. An additional 19 individuals, including a NYCHA foreman and two master plumbers, are charged with acting as brokers by connecting individuals seeking safety certification to VALOR. Finally, four individuals and VALOR are charged with recklessly endangering the life of Ivan Frias, who died after falling from the 15th floor of a West End Avenue construction site in 2022, by failing to provide him necessary training. This investigation was conducted jointly with DOI, with assistance from DOB and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”).

  According to court documents and statements made on the record in court, in filings to DOB and OSHA, VALOR purported to have trained approximately 20,000 students between December 2019 and April 2023, making it the third-largest producer of safety certifications in the City during that time period. VALOR claimed to provide “safety training, safety inspections, safety plans and security services” to “assure our clients remain in full compliance with all regulatory agencies.” Instead, VALOR, its executives, and its employees engaged in a three-and-a-half-year scheme to issue thousands of safety certificates and cards without actually providing any training.VALOR, its President ALEXANDER SHAPOROV, 40; Training Director RICHARD MARINI, 70; Instructor ELIOT SOSINOV, 44; General Manager NIGINA ZOKIROVA, 24; Compliance Director MARINA BALZER, 28; and Director of Business Development RIMMA CHAKHALYAN, 24; are charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with Enterprise Corruption, including 261 pattern acts related to their yearslong scheme. They are also charged with multiple counts of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree and Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree.

  VALOR employees had longstanding payment arrangements with brokers to obtain 40-hour safety cards, supervisor cards, and specialized training cards within days, overnight, or even within the same day, which were often backdated. VALOR charged anywhere from $300 to $600 per filing for a basic safety training card; many payments were in cash. Nineteen of these “brokers,” including two licensed master plumbers for Flow Right Plumbing & Heating Corp. and KCM Plumbing & Heating Co., four employees of DeMar Plumbing Corp., a principal of Alpha Construction Services, and a NYCHA employee are charged with various counts of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree and Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree. Emails and text messages show the communications between brokers and VALOR employees furthering the widespread alleged fraud. 

  VALOR filed fraudulent documents with DOB and OSHA claiming that its trainers had taught safety classes in Brooklyn when the purported trainers were in Florida, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or Staten Island. In some instances, VALOR claimed its trainers conducted trainings in three different states – New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania – or five different sites on the same day.

  VALOR filed documents with DOB claiming to have given safety training to hundreds of students despite video surveillance showing empty classrooms. The defendants even filed safety certificates for students with “LNU,” an abbreviation for last name unknown.Undercover investigators purchased 40-hour safety certificates without taking any training classes and received the requested certificates within an hour. Moreover, VALOR submitted a scantron to DOB for a completed safety test on behalf of an undercover investigator, which the investigator had never seen or completed.

  In addition to providing OSHA and SST cards, VALOR also allegedly conducted more specialized training such as “Site Safety Manager,” “Master Rigger,” “Hoisting Machine Operator,” “Master Climber,” and “Limited gas work” courses. The instructors for these courses must meet additional requirements, including DOB-issued trade licenses and certain documented experience in the field.

  At least four VALOR employees – ZOKIROVA, BALZER, CHAKHALYAN, and SHAPOROV – allegedly submitted fraudulent resumes to OSHA to obtain their teaching credentials to be able to teach and issue safety certificates. Two of these trainers claimed that they purportedly gained some of the required high-rise inspection construction experience when they were only 16- and 17-years-old. Financial records show nearly $1 million in Zelle payments deposited into SHAPOROV’s personal account, mostly in small amounts consistent with the cost of the safety courses, which enabled him to purchase multiple homes, luxury cars, jewelry, a yacht, and more.

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