Manhattan prosecutors say a city safety-training outfit was cranking out bogus credentials while laborers climbed high-rise jobs with a false sense of security. Valor Security & Investigations and its president have now pleaded guilty to running what authorities describe as a sham training school that sold fraudulent Site Safety Training cards to construction workers across New York City. The District Attorney's office says the scheme "recklessly endangered" 36-year-old worker Ivan Frias, who later fell to his death at an Upper West Side jobsite.
We announced the guilty plea of Valor Security and its president for operating a sham safety training school and for “recklessly endangering Ivan Frias, who tragically died when he fell from a construction site without proper training.” – D.A. Bragg
— Alvin Bragg (@Manhattanda) May 6, 2026
What Prosecutors Say Went Down
According to a Manhattan District Attorney's Office press release, Valor Security & Investigations and its president, Alexander Shaporov, pleaded guilty in New York State Supreme Court to one count of attempted enterprise corruption, ten counts of offering a false instrument and one count of reckless endangerment. Prosecutors say the company pushed out cards certifying the required 40 hours of site-safety training without providing the instruction those cards were supposed to represent.
Under the plea terms, the release says Shaporov was expected to face a promised sentence of one year in jail, 100 hours of community service and the forfeiture of $100,000, and Valor lost its security license.
How Big The Scheme Was
Investigators say Valor issued roughly 20,000 safety cards between December 2019 and April 2023, making it one of the city's largest certifiers during that stretch, as reported by ENR. Local reporting has also detailed a network of brokers and expedited cash payments that funneled cards to workers for hundreds of dollars without any real training, according to Gothamist.
The Worker At The Center
One of those cards was tied to 36-year-old Ivan Frias, who prosecutors say fell from the 15th floor of a West End Avenue construction site at 263 West End Ave on Nov. 28, 2022 and later died, according to 1010 WINS. Court documents allege Valor filed paperwork falsely certifying that Frias had completed fall-protection training he never actually received.
Regulatory Fallout And Retraining
City regulators have tried to close the loopholes exposed by the case. The Department of Buildings rolled out a digital "Worker Wallet" that became the only accepted worker qualification card for certain certifications on July 1, 2025, according to the NYC Department of Buildings. Reporting by Gothamist notes DOB officials said bogus SST cards tied to the Valor case could be suspended or revoked, which would force many workers back into legitimate, verified training courses.
Brokers, Fees And Undercover Findings
Prosecutors say the operation leaned on brokers who steered workers to Valor for fees that typically ran from about $300 to $600. Undercover investigators were able to obtain 40-hour SST cards in under an hour without attending classes at all, as detailed by ENR. The indictment also named brokers at private construction companies and a NYCHA employee who officials allege helped move workers onto sites with fraudulent paperwork.
Legal Outlook
Immigrant-rights and labor-focused outlets covering the case underscore the broader stakes: fraudulent training certificates push risk onto workers and onto any contractors or public agencies that relied on Valor-stamped documents, according to Documented. Several brokers and company employees remain under indictment as investigators continue mapping the network behind the fake cards.
If you received a Site Safety Training card from Valor or suspect you were issued fraudulent credentials, the Manhattan D.A.'s Worker Protection Unit has made resources available to victims and witnesses. The D.A.'s press release lists the Worker Protection Unit phone number at (646) 712-0298, and the NYC Department of Buildings posts guidance for reporting training fraud and locating registered course providers.
