Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., today announced the indictment of SAMY GARCIA CABA, 30, and his company, ALL LUXURY CONTRACTING CORP. (“ALL LUXURY”), for defrauding his workers and failing to compensate them for their labor. The New York State Supreme Court indictment charges the defendants with Scheme to Defraud and violating New York’s Workers’ Compensation and Labor laws. [1]
This indictment marks the continued efforts of the Manhattan D.A.’s Office’s Worker Protection Unit launched earlier this year.
“As alleged, Samy Garcia Caba repeatedly scammed his workers out of the wages they were owed. Hard-working New Yorkers in the construction industry are essential to the growth of New York City and we are making it clear that executives cannot exploit their labor,” said District Attorney Bragg. “I urge anyone who has been a victim of wage theft or dangerous workplace conditions to call or message our Worker Protection Unit at 646-712-0298.”
According to court documents and statements made on the record in court, CABA, the president of ALL LUXURY, engaged in a scheme from June 2022 to April 2023 where he hired workers promising them between $150 and $250 per day, but failed to pay them or made only partial payments. From March to April of 2023, at least 12 painters, plasterers, tapers, and laborers were not paid for their work at a construction project at 170 East 123rd Street.
In June 2022, CABA promised to pay a worker for a painting job at a Bedford-Stuyvesant apartment building. The worker, who was picked up at a day laborer site in Westchester County and driven to Brooklyn, repeatedly asked for the wages owed during the eight-day job. On one of the days, CABA locked the worker inside an apartment by placing a chain on the outside door. The worker texted CABA to let him out for a lunch break, but CABA refused. The worker continued to work that day and eventually left out of the back of the building through a restaurant on the street level, injuring his leg as he left.
When the worker told CABA he would report the incident, CABA responded via text message, “GO AHEAD. I HAVE BETTER LAWYERS THAN YOU.” The worker later reported the incident to the New York State Department of Labor.
In total, CABA owed these workers approximately $14,250. One worker was evicted because he could not pay his rent due to CABA’s withholding. CABA threatened another worker with deportation after the worker asked about payment.
The case was referred to the Manhattan D.A.’s Office’s Worker Protection Unit when five workers reported the Bronx-based company for wage theft. Further investigation uncovered more victims.
If you believe you are the victim of wage theft, report it by calling or messaging the Worker Protection Unit at (646) 712-0298. The Office is a safe place to report crime regardless of immigration status.
About the Worker Protection Unit
The D.A.’s Office announced the creation of its firstever Worker Protection Unit within the Rackets Bureau to investigate and prosecute wage theft and other forms of worker harassment and exploitation across Manhattan’s many industries. Building on the success of the Office’s Construction Fraud Task Force, which is part of the Worker Protection Unit, the Unit pursues criminal charges against individuals and corporations that jeopardize their workers’ safety and steal their wages.
Earlier this year, D.A. Bragg also announced the creation of a first-ever Stolen Wage Fund for Manhattan victims of wage theft, funded through the D.A.’s Criminal Justice Investment Initiative and operated in partnership with the New York State Department of Labor.
Acknowledgments
Assistant D.A. Rachana Pathak (Chief of the Worker Protection Unit) is handling the prosecution of this case under the supervision of Assistant D.A.s Michael Ohm (Deputy Chief of the Rackets Bureau), Judy Salwen (Principal Deputy Chief of the Rackets Bureau) and Jodie Kane (Chief of the Rackets Bureau and Acting Chief of the Investigation Division). Worker Protection Unit Coordinator Danielle Corbett, Rackets Bureau Secretary Cristal Rodriguez, and the Investigation Bureau, especially Investigator Genesis Corneille assisted with the investigation.
District Attorney Bragg thanked the New York City Department of Investigation for their assistance.
Defendant Information:
SAMY GARCIA CABA
Bronx, New York
Charges:
- Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, a class E felony, one count
- Effect of Failure to Secure Compensation, a class E felony, one count
- Failure to Pay Wages, a class A misdemeanor, seven counts
ALL LUXURY CONTRACTING CORP.
Bronx, New York
Charges:
- Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, a class E felony, one count
- Effect of Failure to Secure Compensation, a class E felony, one count
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