New York Attorney General Letitia James has sued to dissolve a new Mount Vernon company implicated in a check cashing scheme.
James says Liberty Doorw0rks Inc. was formed with the purpose of imitating a legitimate business, in a complaint filed Dec. 19 in Westchester Supreme Court.
Liberty Doorw0rks Inc. has no legitimate business purpose, the complaint states, “and has conducted its business in a persistently fraudulent manner.”
The lawsuit was prompted by Lorna D. Smith, president of Liberty Door Works in Hauppage, Suffolk County.
Her business was incorporated in 1985, and makes customized doors and works with contractors and developers on large commercial projects.
Liberty Door0rks was incorporated on Sept. 29 and was purportedly registered by Edward Leake, of Lorraine Avenue in Mount Vernon.
An Edward Leake has lived in an apartment at the Lorraine Avenue address, according to online databases, but the attorney general’s complaint does not name him as a defendant or say whether he was actually involved in the check cashing scheme.
Days after Liberty Doorw0rks was formed, Nevco Contracting Co., a Mount Vernon carpentry and drywall contractor, issued a $71,125 Chase Bank check to Liberty Door Works.
The check was intercepted.
On Oct. 2, an unknown individual cashed the check at a New York Community Bank in Yonkers, according to a Mount Vernon police report. The check was endorsed by Liberty Doorw0rks Inc. D.
Nevco office administrator Aisling McElligott contacted Liberty Door Works by email to ask if they had received the check. They had not.
McElligott notified Chase Bank and was advised to file a police report. On Oct. 17, she made a forgery and grand larceny complaint with Mount Vernon police.
On Oct. 23, an attorney for Liberty Door Works filed a complaint with the attorney general’s Bureau of Consumer Frauds and Protection. He asked that Liberty Doorw0rks Inc. be banned as a New York corporation.
Assistant Attorney General Oluwadamilola E. Obaro is handling the state’s lawsuit.
Nevco sued Chase on Dec. 13, in Westchester Supreme Court, accusing it of negligence for honoring a check with “obvious discrepancies and alterations.”
Nevco is demanding $71,125 and unspecified punitive damages.
Chase spokesman Pablo Rodriguez said in an email that the bank has no comment at this time.
