NYC invalidates construction safety cards amid alleged training fraud

Overview

Updated Sep 10

New York City's Department of Buildings has deactivated about 2,000 construction safety cards issued by Redcode, a training company with locations in Brooklyn and Queens. The move follows a grand jury indictment alleging the firm sold the cards for $500 each to undercover investigators who never attended the required classes.

Workers holding the invalidated cards can't set foot on large NYC construction sites until they complete legitimate training elsewhere. Redcode is the third training provider in two years caught in this exact scheme, part of a multi-agency crackdown by the Brooklyn District Attorney, the Department of Investigation, and the Department of Buildings.

Why it matters

A $500 card lets an untrained worker onto an NYC construction site — the same path that preceded a worker's fatal fall in a 2022 case.

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Key Indicators

~2,000

SST cards invalidated

DOB deactivated site safety training cards issued by Redcode after the indictment.

$500

Price per fake card

Undercover officers paid this amount for each SST and OSHA card without taking any course.

Defendants indicted

Two individuals plus the company Redcode Inc. face felony charges in Brooklyn Supreme Court.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

People Involved

Lutfur Rahman

Owner of Redcode Inc.

Indicted; released without bail; due back in court November 4, 2026

Mohammed Tushar

Associate at Redcode Inc.

Indicted; released without bail; due back in court November 4, 2026

Ahmed Tigani

Commissioner, NYC Department of Buildings

Led the agency's invalidation of Redcode-issued cards

Eric Gonzalez

Brooklyn District Attorney

Prosecuting the Redcode case

Organizations Involved

Redcode Inc.

Private Company

Indicted; all issued SST cards invalidated

Training provider authorized to issue site safety certifications, with locations in Brooklyn and Queens.

NYC Department of Buildings

Municipal Agency

Enforcing Local Law 196; invalidated Redcode cards

Regulates NYC construction sites and mandates safety training certification.

Brooklyn District Attorney's Office

Prosecutorial Office

Prosecuting the case

The office prosecuting Rahman, Tushar, and Redcode Inc.

NYC Department of Investigation

Municipal Investigative Agency

Ran the undercover sting that exposed Redcode

City watchdog that investigated the scheme using undercover officers.

Timeline

2017 September 2026

7 events Latest: September 10th, 2026 · 2 months ago

Tap a bar to jump to that date

September 2026
DOB deactivates 2,000 Redcode cards
Latest Enforcement

All Redcode-issued SST cards invalidated; workers barred until they retrain.
September 10th, 2026
Brooklyn DA indicts Redcode defendants
Legal

Rahman, Tushar, and Redcode Inc. arraigned on six felony counts; released without bail.
September 8th, 2026
July 2025
Undercover phase ends
Investigation

Investigators document multiple card sales; attendance sheets signed falsely.
July 16th, 2025
April 2025
Undercover sting targets Redcode
Investigation

DOI officers pose as construction workers and buy $500 cards without training.
April 22nd, 2025
Bonello sentenced for fake OSHA cards
Legal

Brooklyn judge orders six months in jail for National Site Safety fraud case.
April 15th, 2025
February 2024
Valor Security indicted for sham training
Investigation

Manhattan DA charges the company; DOB invalidates about 20,000 SST cards.
February 28th, 2024
2017
Local Law 196 passes
Rule Change

NYC requires 40 hours of safety training for workers on large construction sites.
2017

Scenarios

Redcode owners plead guilty, face jail time

Likely Resolves by Mar 1, 2027

Discussed by: Precedents from the Bonello case, where a guilty plea led to six months in jail

Rahman and Tushar accept a plea deal in Brooklyn Supreme Court. The undercover recordings and signed attendance sheets make a strong prosecution case, and Bonello's sentence sets a pattern. The defendants could face jail time, fines, or both, with the company potentially dissolved.

Case goes to trial, jury reaches verdict

Possible Resolves by Sep 1, 2027

Discussed by: Standard litigation path if plea negotiations fail

If the defendants reject a deal, the case proceeds to trial. Prosecutors must prove the defendants knowingly issued cards without training. Key evidence: DOI undercover recordings, attendance sheets allegedly signed by officers, and records showing the fraudulent certifications were sent to OSHA's training intermediary and DOB.

Felony charges reduced to misdemeanors

Unlikely Resolves by Mar 1, 2027

Discussed by: Defense strategy targeting evidentiary issues

Defense attorneys may argue the undercover officers voluntarily sought out the cards, or that the attendance sheets were signed with knowledge of the situation. If evidence is suppressed, felony counts could be downgraded. This outcome is less likely given the documented pattern and prior convictions in similar cases.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

February 2024

Valor Security sham training school (2024)

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg indicted Valor Security & Investigations for operating a sham safety training school. The company allegedly issued certificates to roughly 20,000 people without providing instruction. DOB invalidated all Valor SST cards, about 17,000 of them active.

Then

Valor's former president pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment in June 2025, tied to the November 2022 fatal fall of construction worker Ivan Frias, who carried fraudulent fall-prevention certification.

Now

Established that selling fraudulent safety cards can carry criminal liability connected to site deaths.

Why this matters now

Shows the fatal consequence of the same fraud pattern — an untrained worker reached a site and died. It anchors the stakes behind Redcode's invalidation.

2023-2025

National Site Safety fraud (2023-2025)

Brooklyn resident Benedetto Bonello and two associates were indicted in 2023 for selling fake OSHA-30 and scaffolding cards through their firm, National Site Safety LLC. The scheme was exposed by an undercover DOI sting.

Then

Bonello was sentenced to six months in jail in April 2025 after pleading guilty in Brooklyn Supreme Court.

Now

Set the normal sentencing range for this type of fraud in Brooklyn and demonstrated the standard enforcement playbook.

Why this matters now

The Redcode case follows the identical template: undercover DOI operation, criminal indictment, DOB card invalidation. Bonello's sentence is the benchmark for what Rahman and Tushar may face.