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Homeless shelter scam nets Queens contractor 4-year prison sentence
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Sep 17, 2025
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By
Giulia Heyward
Published Sep 17, 2025
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The president of a Queens-based construction company has been sentenced to four years in federal prison after defrauding the city out of millions of dollars through public contracts tied to homeless shelters, officials said.
Liaquat Cheema, 65, of East Elmhurst, headed AFL Construction, a city vendor that had roughly $12 million in contracts to perform general maintenance, landscaping, roofing and snow removal at shelters run by the Department of Homeless Services, authorities said.
Cheema pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to the city’s Department of Investigation. He’s been ordered to pay more than $3 million in restitution and forfeiture, and is scheduled to surrender on Oct. 31.
Investigators said Cheema and several codefendants submitted fraudulent invoices and inflated costs for materials on city contracts between 2014 and 2017, in some cases listing workers who never performed the labor, including names and even a Social Security number, without consent.
Authorities said he also obtained tens of thousands of dollars in Medicaid benefits by underreporting his income. Prosecutors said Cheema used fake employment letters bearing the name and signature of a project manager who was already deceased.
“Over three years, this defendant stole millions of dollars from the City, by overcharging for maintenance and other work that AFL was contracted to perform at city homeless shelters,” Department of Investigation Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber said in a statement. “Now he will serve 48 months in prison, because theft of funds intended to improve the housing available to City residents in need has serious consequences.”
Three of Cheema’s codefendants were sentenced earlier this year for related fraud charges.
Attorney information for Cheema was not immediately available.
Tagged
public safety
queens
Giulia Heyward
Giulia Heyward is a breaking news reporter on the Day-Of desk. She previously worked at NPR, as a breaking news reporter, and the New York Times, as a reporting fellow on the national desk. Her work has also appeared in CNN, The Atlantic and Politico. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or more securely on signal at 917-715-1458.
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