Archinect - News

Congress moves to limit Architect of the Capitol following investigation into misconduct

2023-01-04T15:02:00-05:00

Embattled Architect of the Capitol J. Brett Blanton could be getting one step closer to being forced out of his job after the outgoing 117th Congress finally proposed last-minute legislation that would make it easier for the Trump appointee to be removed from office following an Inspector General’s investigation into the abuse of his title while in office.

CBS News has the latest details on the effort to hold Blanton accountable for his actions, which reportedly included the misrepresentation of himself as a law enforcement official and multiple misuses of his government-provided SUV by him and his family.

Under the proposed new legislation, the formerly term-limited appointment would for the first time be subject to the conditional removal of its office holder via an impeachment or Congressional joint resolution finding either “permanent disability, inefficiency, neglect of duty, malfeasance; or a felony or conduct involving moral turpitude.”

Earlier on Archinect: Trump's Architect...

Trump's Architect of the Capitol is under investigation for ethics violations in D.C.

2022-11-03T12:56:00-04:00

The federal Architect of the Capitol is under scrutiny for ethics violations after apparently using his office to give “patriotic” private tours in the weeks leading up to the contentious elections of November 2020.

The Washington Post is reporting that Trump appointee J. Brett Blanton is now being investigated by the federal Inspector General’s office for allegedly using his office to give family members access to government-owned vehicles and areas of the capitol building that had been restricted due to Covid-19.

The office’s report identified “a significant amount of administrative, ethical, and policy violations as well as evidence of criminal violations throughout the investigation,” including several incidents where Blanton misrepresented himself as a police officer (a class misdemeanor under District of Columbia law) in addition to a campaign of “fraud, waste, and abuse against not only the AOC but also the taxpayer.”

Earlier on Archinect: Architect of the U.S. Capitol detai...

Former Bloomberg construction executive will serve 38 months in federal prison for millions in bribery and tax evasion

2021-01-26T13:09:00-05:00

Anthony Guzzone, former director of global construction at Bloomberg LP, has been sentenced to 38 months in federal prison for tax evasion stemming from his role in $6 million pay-to-play bribery schemes on Bloomberg construction projects in New York City. U.S. Department of Justice officials said Guzzone failed to report as income $1.45 million in illicit payments and gifts.

According to Construction Dive, Guzzone must also pay $574,005 in outstanding taxes and interest and serve three years of supervised release after he completes his prison sentence.

Contractor faces prison time for PPP fraud. Buys $689,417 boat

2020-09-10T11:57:00-04:00

A Fort Myers, Florida, contractor has been arrested and charged with attempting to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) meant to help keep workers employed during the coronavirus. Casey David Crowther, 35, has been charged with making a false statement to a lending institution. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison.

Crowther received $2 million in funds from the PPP loan for his company, Target Roofing & Sheet Metal, and allegedly included misleading statements as to how the money would be used, stating that it would only be used for business purposes, Construction Dive reports. Shortly after receiving the PPP funds, it is reported that Crowther used a portion of the funds to purchase a 2020 40-foot catamaran boat for approximately $689,417. According to Construction Dive, the case is currently being investigated by the United States Secret Service.

Fake architect convicted after false claims on LinkedIn

2020-01-07T11:40:00-05:00

According to Architect's Journal (AJ), a Watford man has received seven convictions after falsely describing himself as an architect on LinkedIn and with Companies House, the Uk's registrar of companies. Sohail Chohan, the convicted man, who pleaded guilty, told AJ that his son set up his LinkedIn profile and website and that he had never seen them before.

Ultimately, Chohan was given leeway by the judge due to his early guilty and financial situation, reports AJ. "They understood I was an idiot and were as lenient as they could be," Chohan said to AJ.

Two convicted for unlicensed construction on "hundreds of homes" in California

2019-11-21T17:00:00-05:00

Authorities in southern California have said two residents were convicted of more than 200 felony counts each after falsifying documents and conducting fraudulent construction projects on hundreds of homes. ...47-year-old Wilfrido Rodriguez of Downey and 45-year-old Ruben Gutierrez of Huntington Beach were convicted Wednesday after a civil engineering firm called into question the structural integrity of hundreds of homes.

According to The San Diego Union-Tribune, "Authorities say Palos Verdes Engineering Company contacted police suspecting two former employees were responsible for projects across 56 cities in Los Angeles, Ventura, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties."

Driver's license photos of Ruben Gutierrez (left) and Wilfrido Rodriguez, released by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Archinect covered the onset of the scandal last year, reporting that Rodriguez faces up to 152 years in a state prison, while Gutierrez faces a possible maximum sentence of 105 years in prison."

Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 27.

Man convicted for falsely claiming to be an architect

2019-08-14T18:00:00-04:00

Paul Lyon, director of Warwickshire, Coventry and London-based company Lyson Architecture, was fined for referring to himself as a ‘Residential Architect’ on his website. He was also fined for using the Twitter handle @LysonArchitect ’despite having no architects at the pracitce’.

US businessman pleads guilty to misleading government for million-dollar contracts intended for minority-owned businesses

2018-09-24T14:42:00-04:00

A US businessman has pleaded guilty in a case involving the fraudulent winning of federal government construction contracts intended for companies run by women, ethnic minorities, former servicemen and disabled people.

Thomas Brock is accused of taking advantage of his wife, an Air Force veteran with a service-connected disability, and his friend Cory Adams, who is black, to apply for military construction projects meant for minority-owned companies. His schemes ran from 2002 to 2013, and totaled around $350 million in government contracts.

Prosecutors are also charging that Brock pocketed millions in profits from the various projects his companies carried out, using the money to renovate his house as well as buy condos, large acreages in South Caroline, and a hair salon for a friend.

Two California fake civil engineers face up to 257 years in prison

2018-03-20T14:27:00-04:00

Two men were hit with 487 counts on Wednesday in a complaint alleging they spent years running a scam that has potentially left hundreds of homeowners across Southern California with homes that may not be structurally sound. [...] Huntington Beach resident Ruben Gutierrez, 43, and 46-year-old Wilfrido Rodriguez of Downey each face numerous counts of forgery, identity theft and grand theft in a scheme involving falsified documents and fraudulent engineering services [...].

"Rodriguez was an engineering drafter and Gutierrez was an architectural designer at Palos Verdes Engineering. Neither Rodriguez nor Gutierrez were licensed architects or civil engineers," a news release published by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said.

"Investigators estimate that there were more than 700 residential and commercial properties where fraud allegedly occurred in more than 50 cities in Southern California. If convicted as charged, Rodriguez faces up to 152 years in state prison, while Gutierrez faces a possible maximum sentence of 105 years in prison."

The prison sentences Rodriguez and Gutierrez may face are far more drastic than the 2 1/3-7 years NY State's Paul J. Newman—another highly prominent case of a fake architect—received in the fall of last year.

New York State Man Faces Up to 15 Years for Practicing Architecture Without Being Licensed or Registered

2017-04-21T12:28:00-04:00

Paul J. Newman, 49, is the president of Cohesion Studios. He’s also facing charges in three counties for pretending to be an architect. According to New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, Newman worked on numerous housing projects in the Capital Region despite being neither licensed nor registered. He is accused of defrauding construction companies, business owners and municipalities.

Discovered through an investigation dubbed “Operation Vandelay Industries”, Newman allegedly drafted architectural renderings for over 100 properties, as well as foundation inspections, field reports, energy compliance certificates and engineer letters. On each, he signed as a registered and license architect, using a forged New York State Registered Architect Stamp or Professional Engineer Stamp. Among his alleged victims are municipal governments and senior living facilities.

These are serious charges: Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, nine counts of Forgery in the Second Degree, one ...

University of Waterloo School of Architecture's former GM on trial for fraud

2016-03-30T12:50:00-04:00

A University of Waterloo employee secretly arranged for his mother to be paid $148,000 from the school’s coffers, his fraud trial heard Tuesday. Jeffrey Lederer is charged with fraud, theft and uttering forged documents. He was employed by Waterloo until 2011, when he was asked to leave his position as general manager of the university’s architectural school.

Although he's no Bernie Madoff, just how does the former General Manager's illegal fund finagling rank in the annals of architectural rip-offs?

Here's a tour of recent questionable architectural appropriations: