AG sues E. Meadow company for scamming homeowners

The New York Attorney General has filed suit against an East Meadow company that advised residents on signing up for a state tax exemption program for allegedly scamming new homeowners out of more than $1.5 million.

According to Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, YCA Corp. and its business owner Arie Gal sent out deceptive mailers urging homeowners to sign up for the School Tax Relief, or STAR, Program, which provides a partial exemption from school property taxes for households making less than $500,000 per year. Those who responded to the mailers, according to Schneiderman, were charged 100 percent of the savings provided them, even though it is free to sign up for the program.

Once homeowners were approved for the exemption, the company sent them invoices. If payment was not remitted immediately or homeowners disputed the charges, Gal allegedly sued them in small claims court.

According to Schneiderman, almost all homeowners settled to avoid litigation, and those who showed up to court were “shocked” to see so many homeowners also there, with the same problem.

Gal used official-looking envelopes and documents in order to dupe the homeowners, according to Schneiderman, and even sued some who had signed up for the exemption through the state, without using his company as an intermediary.

“Home ownership is challenging enough. Preying on and deceiving New Yorkers by manipulating the STAR program – one of the few forms of financial relief available to homeowners – is shameful and illegal,” said Schneiderman. “These kinds of pernicious scams targeting unsuspecting homeowners will not be tolerated by my office.”

Posts by residents claiming to have been targets of the scam — some claiming to have paid upwards of $1,000 for YCA’s services — can be found dating back to 2013 on the LI Families community web forums.

One woman said, on the forum, that in October 2013, she received a STAR application from YCA, although she believed it was from Nassau County at the time. After filling it out and submitting it, the woman said that she received a letter stating that she was approved, but that her “STAR Exemption Advisor” fee was equivalent to her first-year tax savings — $865.

The AG’s office is demanding that all affected homeowners be paid back in full, as well as additional costs and damages. Schneiderman has also obtained and temporary restraining order keeping Gal and his business from doing business in New York and froze their assets.

The Nassau County Assessor’s Office and Valerie Singleton, Assistant Attorney General in Charge of the Nassau Regional Office, assisted with the investigation, Schneiderman said.

Representatives of YCA Corp. could not be reached for comment on Thursday.