Law enforcement agencies in New York City have found evidence that two Bangladeshi nationals have sold hundreds of fake certificates without providing training on workplace safety for a huge sum of money.

Authorities arrested the two in Queens on Tuesday and brought them to the courtroom of Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Danny Chun. The court later granted them bail.

The two suspects have been identified as Lutfur Rahman, 34, of Jamaica, Queens, Mohammed Tushar, 34, of Howard Beach, Queens.

They have been ordered to appear in court again on Nov 4, according to Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez and New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner Nadia I Shihata.

Gonzalez told the media that a prerequisite for working as a construction worker in New York is to receive a certificate after completing the training prescribed by the state administration.

Lutfur and Tushar opened two offices under the name “Redcode Inc” at 146-04 Hillside Avenue in Queens and 529 McDonald Avenue in Brooklyn to allegedly provide the service.

The offices were supposed to provide training to “The Occupational Safety and Health Administration” (OSHA) to start a career as a construction worker.

However, the investigation revealed that the two have issued certificates to hundreds of people without training, Gonzalez said.

 “Investigators have found evidence that they have been charging $500 per person in exchange for fake certificates,” the Brooklyn district attorney said.

Explaining that there is no alternative to the necessary training to ensure the safety of all, including workers, at construction sites, Gonzalez said the two should face harsh punishment for the fraud.

According to the district attorney, Lutfur and Tushar were investigated from Apr 22 last year to Jul 16 this year. Investigators went to the office of Redcode Inc disguised as construction workers, and Lutfur and Tushar agreed to give each of them a Department of Buildings training certificate and a Site Safety Training (SST) certificate if they received $500.

No classes or training were needed to obtain the certificate, as the two said they had prepared all the papers to be backdated. They then provided the fake certificates and OSHA cards.

More than fifty construction workers, including several Bangladeshis, have been killed and injured in workplace accidents in New York in the past few years. Although they all had OSHA card and SST certificates, they were not verified during the investigations of those incidents.

In other words, the police investigation revealed that the workers may have received the certificates without the necessary training.