Trident/ACS
A concerning record[1]
Defrauded union funds out of millions
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Trident was formed in 2018 after its predecessor company, ACS, entered bankruptcy proceedings. ACS entered bankruptcy after a Manhattan federal court judge found ACS to be an unlawful alter ego of the union contractor Navillus, created to avoid Navillus’s obligations to union benefit funds.[i]
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In 2017, a Manhattan federal court judge ordered Navillus to pay $76 million to union funds to cover benefit fund contributions it had avoided through its alter-ego scheme.[ii] Navillus declared bankruptcy as a result of this judgment, causing ACS to go out of business and re-emerge under the name Trident.[iii]
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The judge noted in her opinion that Trident founder Eoin Moriarty “was obviously lying” in his trial testimony.[iv]
Insurance and visa fraud admitted to over the course of the trial.
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During the course of the above-mentioned alter ego trial, numerous additional frauds committed by ACS principals were exposed. Among these fraudulent acts were:
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Visa fraud: ACS principals admitted to lying to US Citizenship and Immigration Services to illegally obtain H-1B and J-1 visas for immigrant workers.[v]
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Insurance Fraud: ACS principals admitted to lying to an insurance company in order to secure bonding for a project by intentionally inflating the amount and value of work ACS had previously performed.[vi]
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The judge in the case commented during summation: “I’d love to turn all of this over to the United States attorney… the amount of fraud in this case, the insurance fraud, the visa fraud, a lot of fraud has gone on here and I will call it fraud for fraud it is.” [vii]
Sued over alleged discrimination
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Two African-American former Trident employees recently filed a lawsuit claiming they were subjected to a discriminatory environment where supervisors frequently used racial and homophobic slurs and threatened to fight them.[viii]
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The workers say they were fired in retaliation when they complained about the harassment they endured from the company’s general foreman.[ix] One of the two men who was fired was first asked to unsafely grind concrete on a 7th story ledge, and then fired when he refused.[x]
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The case is ongoing as of July 3, 2019.
[i] See Navillus Judgment, page 57 of PDF, paragraph 205: “ACS was set up as, and at all relevant times was, Navillus’ alter ego.”
[ii] See Navillus Judgment, pages 99-101 of PDF.
[iii] https://www.enr.com/articles/46262-how-navillus-owner-disentangled-from-a-non-union-firm
[iv] See Navillus Judgment, page 46, paragraph 175.
[v] See Navillus Judgment, pages 55-56, paragraphs 200 & 201.
[vi] See Navillus Trial Transcript 8-21-17, pages 106-107
[vii] See Navillus Trial Transcript 8-21-17, page 107
[viii] See Complaint, Michael Stewart et al. v. Trident General Contracting LLC et al., paragraphs 21-32, 46
[ix] See Complaint, Michael Stewart et al. v. Trident General Contracting LLC et al., pages 3-4 of PDF
[x] See Complaint, Michael Stewart et al. v. Trident General Contracting LLC et al., paragraphs 56-59