Two Individuals and Company Indicted for Making and Selling Fake OSHA and Buildings Department Site Safety Cards

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, September 8, 2026

Two Individuals and Company Indicted for Making and Selling
Fake OSHA and Buildings Department Site Safety Cards

Allegedly Sold Counterfeit Safety and Training Certifications to Construction Workers
Who Never Received the Required Training

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, together with New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner Nadia I. Shihata and New York City Department of Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani, today announced that the owner and an associate of a company with locations in Brooklyn and Queens that was authorized to provide jobsite safety training and certification have been arraigned on an indictment charging them with making and selling fake safety cards to construction workers who never received the required training.

District Attorney Gonzalez said, "Proper safety training is a foundational safeguard for everyone on a construction site. When individuals or companies cut corners and issue certifications without the required instruction, they undermine the integrity of our safety systems and endanger workers and the public. This case reflects our continued commitment to ensuring that training standards are followed and that fraudulent practices are identified and addressed promptly. I am grateful to our prosecutors and our partners at DOI and DOB for their excellent work on this important case."

Commissioner Shihata said, "City and state workplace safety standards exist to protect workers. Put simply, shortcutting required training and coursework puts lives at risk, as charged, these defendants allegedly sold fraudulent safety cards to construction workers who never completed the required training. I thank the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office and the Department of Buildings for their continued commitment to holding accountable those who undermine workplace safety in our City."

Commissioner Tigani said, "Since Site Safety Training card requirements were implemented in New York City, data has shown consistent improvements in safety. Simply put, fraudulent cards risk undermining those gains and putting lives in danger. Fraud will not be tolerated. Allowing untrained workers onto a job site puts them at risk and can put their coworkers in danger as well. The invalidation of SST cards issued by Redcode was done because we cannot, in good conscience, allow untrained workers on job sites. I want to thank our partners in the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office, Department of Investigation, and all of the dedicated members of DOB who helped uncover and stop this fraudulent activity."

The District Attorney identified the defendants as Lutfur Rahman, 34, of Jamaica, Queens, Mohammed Tushar, 34, of Howard Beach, Queens, and Redcode Inc., with locations at 529 McDonald Avenue in Brooklyn and 146-04 Hillside Avenue in Queens. The defendants were arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on an indictment in which they are charged with three counts of first-degree offering a false instrument for filing, three counts of second-degree receiving reward for official misconduct, and six counts of second-degree falsifying business records. They were released without bail and ordered to return to court on November 4, 2026.

The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, between April 22, 2025 and July 16, 2025, undercover investigators from the Department of Investigation (DOI) posed as construction workers and went to Redcode's locations in Brooklyn and Queens. They allegedly met with Rahman, the owner of the company, and Tushar, an associate, who agreed to provide the undercovers with site safety training (SST) cards and OSHA cards for $500 each without the undercovers completing the required training.

The undercovers were allegedly asked to sign attendance sheets, making it seem as though they had attended training sessions. Redcode then allegedly sent information regarding the training to the DOB and to an OSHA designated training intermediary falsely indicating that the "students" completed the training. As a result, OSHA's intermediary issued the "students" OSHA cards and DOB issued SST cards.

The DOB requires construction workers to undergo training in worksite safety before being allowed to work on most construction jobsites in New York City. OSHA, a subdivision of the United States Department of Labor, sets standards for workplace safety throughout the United States, including a 30-hour course in accident prevention. DOB requires this coursework plus an additional 10 hours of Site Safety Training (SST).

By issuing OSHA cards and SST cards to students who did not complete the coursework, it is alleged, the defendants allowed for workers who were not properly trained in the required safety protocols to work on construction sites posing a danger to themselves, other workers and members of the public.

The case was investigated by investigators from DOI's Office of the Inspector General for the New York City School Construction Authority, under the supervision of First Deputy Inspector General Gerard McEnroe, Inspector General William E. Schaeffer, Deputy Commissioner of Strategic Initiatives Christopher Ryan, and Deputy Commissioner/Chief of Investigations Michael Mullahy.

The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Joseph DiBenedetto and Assistant District Attorney Jack Mulderrig, of the District Attorney's Frauds Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Adam Libove, Chief of the District Attorney's Public Integrity Bureau, and the overall supervision of Assistant District Attorney Michel Spanakos, Deputy Chief of the Investigations Division, and Assistant District Attorney Patricia McNeill, Chief of Investigations.

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An indictment is merely an accusation and not proof of a defendant's guilt.