An East Northport man was charged on Wednesday, Dec. 17, for allegedly submitting fake insurance, workers’ compensation and other certificates to get contractor licenses from the Nassau County Department of Consumer Affairs under the name of a company he continued to operate off-the-books that, according to state records, was legally dissolved in 2011, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said.
Christian Riggi was charged with three counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument and eight counts of offering a false instrument for filing.
He pleaded not guilty and is due back in court on Jan. 12, 2026. If convicted, he faces up to two and a 1/3 to seven years in prison.
Donnelly said that in November, the Nassau County Department of Consumer Affairs referred Riggi to her after reviewing licensing documents allegedly provided by Riggi to obtain residential contractor licenses that officials believed were fraudulent.
Riggi allegedly submitted multiple state Insurance Fund certificates, Workers’ Compensation Board certificates, and lead certificates in connection with biennial license renewal application forms to the county department between Dec. 1, 2019, and Nov. 30, to obtain licenses for his company, Hammer Renovations, Inc., purportedly located in East Northport, which were then issued, the DA said.
The certificates contained policy numbers, certificate numbers and listed Riggi as the president, owner and operator of the company, Donnelly said.
Riggi also submitted multiple license renewal applications on behalf of Hammer Renovations, Inc., in which, in response to the question, “Have you permanently closed your business or gone out of business?” he allegedly checked the “No” box, Donnelly said.
It was discovered through an investigation that Hammer Renovations, Inc. did not hold any state Insurance Fund policy or Workers’ Compensation insurance for the time frames of the certificates, she said.
The submitted insurance fund certificates did not appear in the state’s official records, and the information, format and appearance of the certificates were inauthentic, Donnelly said.
The investigation further determined that lead certifications purporting to be issued by an environmental solutions company were not issued by the organization, that the company does not offer a class or certification in the lead certification listed on the certificate and that they were fraudulent, according to the DA.
A review of the state Department of State’s records reflected that Hammer Renovations, Inc. was an inactive company that was dissolved in October 2011, Donnelly said.
