John Mingione has resigned as co-CEO of the construction firm Omnibuild shortly after being indicted by the Manhattan district attorney’s office for allegedly being part of an $86 million fraud scheme allegedly orchestrated by former HFZ executive Nir Meir—accusations the firm has pushed back on strongly at every turn.
Omnibuild posted the announcement from Mingione to its social media channels Wednesday. The move will allow him to focus more fully on clearing Omnibuild’s name, he wrote.
“We are absolutely innocent, and I am profoundly sorry for the hurt and pain caused by the DA’s wrongful actions,” he wrote. “We have been fighting the false charges night and day, and I will not rest until our good name is cleared.”
Stepping down will also let Mingione “address some health concerns that have been exacerbated by recent events,” he wrote.
Omnibuild co-CEO Peter Serpico will now run the firm as sole CEO.
Omnibuild had worked for HFZ as the construction manager at the XI, the developer’s high-profile luxury condo project by the High Line. The firm filed a claim against HFZ in the summer of 2020 for roughly $100 million worth of unpaid bills on the project, one of the first of several lawsuits to hit the company.
Meir was arrested in Florida in February, and the Manhattan DA’s office has accused him of being the mastermind behind conspiracies that allegedly stole $86 million from investors, contractors and the city. The office also indicted Mingione and Omnibuild accountant Kevin Stewart in the case over accusations that they took part in the scheme by making it seem as though Omnibuild had completed more work on the XI than it actually had, causing the lender on the project to release more funds.
Omnibuild aggressively disputed these accusations in a civil lawsuit the firm filed against HFZ and the XI lenders in Manhattan state Supreme Court in April. The suit essentially argues that Omnibuild repeatedly tried to sound the alarm about the exact financial issues at the XI that Meir was ultimately indicted over, but the company was ignored every time. The suit seeks about $350 million in damages.
Eddie Small , 2024-05-02 22:55:43
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