Commodore Construction Corp., the Mount Vernon contractor that abruptly shut down last fall, has turned its focus to its former auditors. On June 1, 2026, the company filed a summons in Westchester Supreme Court accusing Marcum LLP and CBIZ CPAs of misstating Commodore’s finances. The lawsuit seeks monetary damages at a time when banks, unions and suppliers are already pressing their own claims, following a collapse that left roughly 400 workers out of a job and set off a tangle of creditor actions.
Commodore says auditors misstated accounts
In the new filing, Commodore alleges that Marcum LLP and CBIZ CPAs prepared financial statements that materially misstated the contractor’s true financial condition, and that the company relied on those statements when arranging credit and other financial dealings. The summons accuses the firms of breach of contract, malpractice, negligence and fraud, and asks a Westchester judge for money damages. Details of the filing were reported by Westfair Communications.
Creditors and unions already in the courtroom
Even before Commodore went after its auditors, the company was facing a steady drumbeat of lawsuits from trade unions, suppliers and contractors over unpaid wages, benefits and other debts. Court records show a case brought by the Annuity, Welfare and Apprenticeship funds of the Operating Engineers moved toward a default hearing in April 2026, underscoring the mounting creditor pressure around the firm. Those earlier cases form the legal backdrop for Commodore’s new summons against Marcum and CBIZ, according to public dockets cited in Justia Dockets & Filings.
M&T's claims and a forensic review
A forensic accountant who dug into Commodore’s books told lenders the company lost roughly $70 million from 2021 through 2024 and that cash may have been diverted to affiliated entities, according to reporting on the matter. M&T Bank demanded nearly $31.5 million from Commodore late last year, and lenders’ enforcement actions were among the events that followed the contractor’s shutdown on Sept. 30, 2025. Coverage of the bank suit and the forensic findings notes the same firms named in Commodore’s new summons and reports that CBIZ declined to comment on pending litigation, as detailed by Westfair Communications.
Who Marcum and CBIZ are
Marcum’s audit-related business was folded into CBIZ in a 2024 cash-and-stock transaction valued at about $2.3 billion, creating a national platform with significant scale and reach. The deal made the combined operation one of the largest accounting-services providers in the United States, a point highlighted in the buyer’s announcement of the acquisition, according to CBIZ.
Tangled fallout and what comes next
The Commodore collapse continues to generate legal aftershocks. Other litigation tied to the shutdown is still working its way through the courts, including an insurance dispute alleging that a carrier drew on letters of credit after the contractor ceased operations and a collateral provider’s suit in federal court. Together, those fights highlight the messy financial unwinding that followed Commodore’s closure and the competing claims of creditors, insurers and former employees, as reported by Insurance Business.
Legal implications
Commodore’s accusations against Marcum and CBIZ for breach of contract, malpractice, negligence and fraud are likely to put issues of reliance, causation and audit standards at center stage. Cases like this usually move slowly, with both sides trading documents and expert reports before any ruling on the merits. Outcomes often turn on what auditors recorded in their work papers and what banks, unions and other third parties actually relied on. For now, the summons is docketed in Westchester Supreme Court and will move forward on the court’s schedule.
