At least 20 Hurricane Sandy homeowners paid a Long Island contractor about $2.5 million for elevation and foundation work, but prosecutors say unfinished projects left the households and a state recovery program with more than $1.5 million in losses. The contractor, Alexander Almaraz, has been sentenced to 48 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Recovery money was supposed to rebuild homes
The homeowners had qualified for New York Rising funds intended to repair houses damaged by Hurricane Sandy. They contracted with Almaraz’s Design Concepts Group to lift homes onto temporary supports, remove damaged foundations, build replacements, lower the structures and reconnect appliances, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Between October 2015 and June 2019, at least 20 customers paid approximately $2.5 million. Many moved out and paid rent elsewhere while the work was supposed to proceed. The government says projects were neglected, leaving some houses suspended or incomplete and increasing both housing costs and the damage already caused by the storm.
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Public recovery context remains available through FEMA’s Hurricane Sandy disaster page and New York’s resilient-homes office.
The loss was not simply delayed construction
Prosecutors said Almaraz used customer money for personal expenses instead of completing the promised scope of work. The spending described in the sentencing release included credit-card bills, land in Kansas City, Missouri, and luxury vehicles including a Lamborghini, Porsche and Jaguar.
That diversion is central to the criminal case. A construction delay can result from permits, weather, labor shortages or a business failure without becoming fraud. Here, Almaraz pleaded guilty in September 2024 to a conspiracy built around inducing owners to sign contracts and pay for work while funds were diverted away from their homes.
More than $1.5 million is the proven loss estimate
The government’s current calculation puts combined losses to New York Rising and the individual victims above $1.5 million. It does not say every dollar of the $2.5 million paid disappeared. Some work may have been performed, and loss calculations in contracting cases ordinarily distinguish between payments made and value actually delivered.
That is why the two figures in the title serve different purposes. Roughly $2.5 million is the collective amount at least 20 customers paid. More than $1.5 million is the resulting loss attributed to the fraudulent scheme. The primary record supports both and also notes that emotional and financial harm continued years after the storm.
Restitution has not yet been fixed
U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack imposed the four-year prison sentence on September 9, 2026. The court will determine restitution later. That means the loss estimate should not be presented as a completed payment order, and affected homeowners do not yet have a final restitution figure in the public announcement.
Restitution and loss can diverge because courts apply statutory rules, resolve documentation and decide which losses are directly attributable to the offense. Even after a restitution order is entered, collection depends on the defendant’s finances. The sentencing gives finality to the imprisonment portion while leaving the repayment calculation open.
Disaster rebuilding creates a high-cost trust point
Home-elevation work is unusually hard for a household to monitor. Owners may be displaced, structural work can make the house temporarily uninhabitable, and progress payments can be substantial. Public recovery grants add paperwork and inspections, but they do not eliminate the need to vet a contractor, preserve payment records and match draws to completed work.
The case does not establish that every stalled project is criminal. It does show why contract language, proof of insurance, permit records, staged payments and written change orders matter when a home is the collateral at risk. The September 9 sentencing record fixes the current outcome: 48 months in prison, more than $1.5 million in losses and restitution still to be decided.
Public funds did not remove private-contract risk
New York Rising supplied recovery money, but homeowners still entered contracts with a private company and depended on that company to perform. A grant can establish eligible work and reimburse approved costs without supervising every daily decision at a job site. That gap makes documentation especially important: the grant award, contract, payment schedule, inspection record and photographs each answer a different question.
The loss also reached two places. Individual owners paid rent, faced unfinished structures and lost money. The recovery program lost public funds intended to restore housing. Prosecutors combined harm to New York Rising and the victims in the more-than-$1.5-million figure rather than presenting it as homeowner loss alone.
The sentence does not close the financial file
Four years in prison is final punishment for the conspiracy count, but restitution remains open. The judge may need additional submissions about work completed, grants paid, insurance, offsets and each victim’s direct loss. A later order can therefore supply a number different from the broad loss estimate used at sentencing.
Until that order appears, no homeowner should be described as guaranteed to receive a particular sum. The criminal judgment establishes accountability; collection will depend on the restitution decision and available assets. That unresolved repayment question is why the September announcement is both a major conclusion and an incomplete financial ending.
Other Household Costs With Separate Help
Disaster rebuilding is outside the programs in the guide. Older households facing ordinary recurring costs may still encounter opt-in help through LIHEAP, free weatherization and senior property-tax programs, each with separate rules and contacts.
The Benefits Checklist runs 69 pages and covers 11 programs, with 2026 income limits and a 50-state phone directory; a printable tracker comes with the download.
See the program descriptions and state phone numbers in The Benefits Checklist.
This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by a human editor. Figures are linked to their primary sources; where a claim could not be verified from the public record, we say so.
