Contractor Pleads Guilty in Invoice Padding; Banned For Life from OGS Contract Work

• by New York State Inspector General

A private contractor pleaded guilty to fourth-degree grand larceny in Albany County Court Thursday -- and was banned for life from state Office of General Services' construction contract work -- after a joint state investigation concluded that he falsified invoices to get more than $40,000 in improper payments.

David Darling, 62, who owns Pro Care Contracting, Inc. in Wyoming, N.Y., admitted Wednesday to falsifying invoices for work he performed on behalf of the state Office of General Services (OGS).

The Inspector General had found that Darling falsified the invoices to boost his reimbursement for emergency construction jobs at the Attica, Collins and Gowanda correctional facilities in western New York in 2006 and 2007. For example, Darling charged the state for Bobcat "rental equipment" which Pro Care actually owned.

OGS auditors discovered the questionable invoices in a routine audit in 2007. The investigation was conducted jointly by OGS, the Office of the State Comptroller and the New York State Inspector General's Office. Darling was prosecuted by the Albany County District Attorney's office. He is expected to receive five years probation and to pay $40,000 in restitution to the state. Sentencing is scheduled for late June.

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