Stephen Sheridan, NYPA Fraud and Tax Evasion, New York 2012

A former senior investigator of the New York Power Authority (NYPA) has been caught in a web of deceit and corruption. Stephen Sheridan, of Valley Cottage, New York, pleaded guilty today to charges of conspiring to defraud NYPA and for filing a false 2010 tax return to hide substantial income from the government.

Between 2009 and 2012, Sheridan conspired to defraud NYPA in connection with a $3 million landscaping and maintenance contract. He helped the owner of the landscaping company skim money that should have gone to the employees who did the work, and fraudulently receive reimbursement from NYPA for fake, “no show” employees.

“The defendant schemed to keep money from the NYPA contract that should have gone to the employees who actually did the work,” said Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “And he doubled down on this crime by hiding that extra income from the IRS. The division will continue to work with our partners at the FBI, IRS and New York Inspector General to hold accountable individuals who corrupt the public procurement process.”

Sheridan’s fraud conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison; his tax charge carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison. Each charge carries a maximum fine of $250,000, which may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.

Sheridan will also be ordered to pay restitution to NYPA. The charges against Sheridan arose from an investigation initiated by the New York State Inspector General and are part of an ongoing joint federal and state investigation of bid rigging, fraud and tax-related offenses in the award of contracts at NYPA’s facility in White Plains, New York.

This is the third charge to result from the investigation. In June 2015, Thomas Delaney pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud NYPA and to a tax violation, and in December 2015, Peter Shine pleaded guilty to a tax violation. This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s New York Office with the assistance of the FBI, the IRS Criminal Investigation and the New York State Office of the Inspector General.

Stephen Sheridan, a former senior investigator of the New York Power Authority, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to defraud NYPA and for filing a false 2010 tax return. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for his crimes. He will also be ordered to pay restitution to NYPA.

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