263 West End Avenue (Google Maps)
The New York Supreme Court has indicted Valor Security and Investigations – an operation with ties to the November 2022 death of a construction worker at 263 West End Ave. (and W. 73rd St.) – for running a “sham” safety training school that allegedly issued fraudulent safety and training certificates to more than 20,000 potential construction workers.
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Valor Security and Investigations allegedly had cash payment arrangements with brokers (19 of whom are being charged) to provide 40-hour safety cards, supervisor cards, and specialized training cards for between $300 and $600 per filing, according to the press release.
Six Valor employees – 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 being charged with enterprise corruption, criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree, and offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree.
The indictment states that Shaporov, Valor’s President, received more than $1 million in Zelle payments which he used to fund residences, jewelry, a yacht, and other luxury purchases.
“In the construction industry, fraud can mean life or death – not only for the individuals working on the site, but for the general public that moves around them every single day,” District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. said in the press release. “We allege that Valor Security & Investigations ran a fraudulent safety training school, falsely claiming that construction workers received the necessary training required to work on construction sites. We also allege that the death of one recipient, Ivan Frias, may have been prevented if not for the defendants’ reckless failure to train him.”
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Frias died in 2022 after falling from the 15th floor of the West End Ave. construction site. The 36-year-old had received safety certification from Valor. A 2017 law states that construction workers must complete at least 40 hours of safety training. The indictment alleges that Valor gave out safety certificates to recipients who had not taken any training classes, and that the certificates were often awarded in under an hour.
