By Danielle Naidu
Enriched and Expanded Reporting
Main Facts
In an alarming development highlighting persistent vulnerabilities within metropolitan infrastructure oversight, a New York City-based construction safety training company and two of its principal operators have been formally indicted for allegedly orchestrating a widespread illicit card-selling scheme. According to law enforcement officials and prosecutors, the enterprise systematically bypassed mandatory educational protocols, selling lucrative Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cards and New York City Site Safety Training (SST) cards to individuals without requiring them to complete the legally mandated instructional hours.
The criminal enterprise, operating under the corporate banner of Redcode Inc., allegedly prioritized profit over human life by trading certified credentials for cash. Investigators assert that the firm’s leadership actively manufactured a paper trail of deception, falsifying attendance logs, submitting fraudulent data to municipal regulatory bodies, and tricking OSHA-designated training intermediaries into issuing legitimate-looking certification cards to unqualified personnel.
The fallout from this multi-location sting has sent shockwaves through the local construction industry. The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) has moved decisively to invalidate all SST cards tied to Redcode Inc., leaving scores of potentially untrained workers scrambling and putting numerous construction sites on high alert. The accused—identified as 34-year-old Lutfur Rahman, owner of Redcode Inc., and 34-year-old associate Mohammed Tushar—face an extensive array of felony charges, including offering a false instrument for filing, receiving rewards for official misconduct, and falsifying business records.
While the defendants are currently presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, the case lays bare a lucrative underbelly of safety-certification fraud that directly undermines the structural integrity of New York City’s booming real estate and infrastructure sectors, threatening the lives of construction workers and the general public alike.
Chronology of the Investigation
The unraveling of the Redcode Inc. scheme was not a matter of luck, but the result of a meticulously planned, multi-month undercover operation orchestrated by the New York City Department of Investigation (DOI). The timeline of the probe reveals a brazen disregard for regulatory oversight and an ongoing operational model that persisted across multiple boroughs.
Spring to Summer 2025: Undercover Infiltration
The investigation formally gathered momentum in the spring of 2025. Between April 22 and July 16, undercover DOI investigators—posing as everyday construction workers seeking standard safety credentials—targeted Redcode Inc.’s physical operational hubs located in both Brooklyn and Queens.
During these undercover visits, investigators engaged directly with the company’s leadership, including owner Lutfur Rahman and his associate Mohammed Tushar. According to court documents and investigative briefs, the transaction model was straightforward and transactional: in exchange for a flat fee of $500 per card, Redcode representatives agreed to bypass the federally and locally mandated training hours entirely.
The Illusion of Compliance
Rather than sitting through courses covering essential job-site hazards, fall protection, scaffolding safety, and tool operation, the undercover operatives were instructed to execute a bureaucratic charade. They were directed to sign fraudulent attendance sheets—official documents designed to attest that the signer had spent dozens of hours actively participating in accredited safety instruction.
With the signatures secured, Redcode allegedly set its administrative machinery into motion. The company transmitted the falsified data packets upstream, directing them toward the New York City Department of Buildings and an official OSHA-designated training intermediary. Because the paperwork possessed the outward appearance of legitimacy, the regulatory bodies and intermediaries processed the applications, ultimately generating authentic OSHA and SST cards for individuals who had never stepped foot in a legitimate classroom session.
The Hammer Drops: Indictment and Arraignment
Following the accumulation of sufficient digital, physical, and testimonial evidence, the investigative phase concluded, and the legal system stepped in. Rahman and Tushar were formally indicted on a combined total of twelve felony counts. Following their initial court appearances, both men were released without immediate monetary bail requirements. They have been ordered by the presiding judge to return to court on November 4, 2026, to face the mounting weight of the state’s evidence. Legal experts note that the scheduled appearance will likely set the timetable for pre-trial motions and discovery sharing.
Supporting Data and Legal Charges
The severity of the alleged scheme is reflected in the precise legal framework deployed by prosecutors. The indictment filed against Redcode Inc., Lutfur Rahman, and Mohammed Tushar outlines a dozen distinct criminal counts, each carrying potential prison time and significant corporate liabilities.
Breakdown of Criminal Charges
The formal indictment is categorized into three primary areas of penal law violations:
- Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree (3 Counts): This felony charge addresses the systemic submission of fraudulent documents—namely the attendance rosters and certification applications—to municipal and federal oversight bodies with the intent to defraud and deceive public administrators.
- Receiving Reward for Official Misconduct in the Second Degree (3 Counts): This charge targets the corrupt exchange of monetary compensation ($500 per card) in direct connection with the misuse of official duties, positions of trust, and the processing of regulatory credentials.
- Falsifying Business Records in the Second Degree (6 Counts): This cluster of charges relates to the systematic creation, alteration, and maintenance of internal company logs, digital databases, and attendance ledgers designed to conceal the illicit sale of safety cards from internal audits and external inspections.
Financial and Administrative Implications
Beyond the criminal penalties facing Rahman and Tushar as individuals, Redcode Inc. as a corporate entity faces severe financial sanctions, mandatory compliance monitoring, and the potential revocation of all corporate operating licenses within the state of New York.
The downstream economic impact on the workers who utilized Redcode’s services is equally substantial. Because the NYC Department of Buildings has invalidated all SST cards issued by the company, every worker who purchased a fraudulent card is now faced with a stark reality: they must stop working, forfeit their ill-gotten credentials, and enroll in legitimate, time-consuming, and costly training programs to secure lawful employment in the city. For contractors who employed these individuals, the sudden invalidation of certifications creates immediate labor shortages, project delays, and potential liability issues if uncertified labor was knowingly or negligently deployed on active job sites.
Official Responses and Regulatory Fallout
The unearthing of the Redcode scheme has elicited sharp, uncompromising responses from New York City’s municipal leaders, law enforcement agencies, and labor advocates, all of whom view safety-card fraud not merely as a white-collar paper crime, but as a direct menace to public safety.
The Department of Buildings Speaks Out
Ahmed Tigani, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Buildings, took a hardline stance against the defendants, emphasizing that the city’s rigorous safety infrastructure exists for a reason and will not be compromised by bad actors seeking quick profits.
"The safety of New York City construction workers and the public is non-negotiable," Commissioner Tigani stated. "When training providers cut corners, they place human lives directly in the path of avoidable danger. The Department of Buildings acted swiftly to invalidate all Site Safety Training cards associated with Redcode Inc. We will continue to work hand-in-hand with our law enforcement partners to root out fraud and hold accountable anyone who treats safety regulations as a commodity."
Commissioner Tigani underscored that the DOB’s digital tracking systems were crucial in identifying anomalies, and the agency is currently conducting retroactive audits of other training providers to ensure that similar schemes are not operating elsewhere in the five boroughs.
Law Enforcement and Investigative Perspectives
Representatives from the New York City Department of Investigation echoed these sentiments, praising the undercover agents who embedded themselves within the operation to expose the inner workings of the illicit marketplace. Investigators noted that the $500 price point for bypassing weeks of safety education represented a dangerously low valuation of human life.
Law enforcement officials pointed out that construction sites in New York City are among the most complex and hazardous work environments in the world. High-rise developments, deep excavation projects, and dense urban surroundings require workers to possess specialized knowledge regarding crane operations, scaffolding assembly, electrical hazards, and personal fall arrest systems. Distributing certification cards to untrained individuals effectively introduces ticking time bombs onto active job sites.
Implications for the Construction Industry
The Redcode Inc. indictment is far more than an isolated criminal case; it serves as a critical stress test for the entire New York City construction ecosystem, exposing structural vulnerabilities that demand immediate reform.
Heightened Scrutiny on Training Providers
In the wake of this scandal, independent training providers across the metropolitan area are bracing for an unprecedented wave of regulatory audits. OSHA-designated training intermediaries and municipal oversight committees are tightening the verification loops required to issue physical and digital certification cards. Industry associations are calling for mandatory biometric verification, digital attendance tracking via facial recognition or geofenced check-ins, and random unannounced classroom inspections to ensure that students physically occupy seats for the entirety of their mandatory training hours.
Contractor Liability and Workforce Verification
For general contractors and subcontractors, the scandal is a wake-up call regarding their duty of care in vetting the credentials of incoming labor. Relying solely on the presentation of a physical OSHA or SST card is no longer sufficient risk management. Contractors are now rushing to implement advanced internal verification protocols, cross-referencing worker card numbers directly against municipal databases and authorized provider lists to confirm that every welder, carpenter, laborer, and mason on their sites has undergone legitimate, rigorous safety preparation.
The Human Cost of Safety Fraud
Ultimately, the most profound implications of the Redcode case center on human safety. Construction remains one of the most perilous industries in the United States, and New York City’s unique vertical density magnifies those risks exponentially. Falls from elevations, struck-by incidents, electrocutions, and caught-in-between hazards are daily realities on urban job sites.
When workers are deprived of proper safety education—not out of personal negligence, but due to predatory third-party brokers selling shortcuts—the statistical probability of workplace fatalities and catastrophic injuries skyrockets. By short-circuiting the educational foundation designed to protect workers, schemes like the one allegedly run by Redcode Inc. turn construction sites into hazardous zones where tragedy is only a matter of time.
As the legal proceedings against Lutfur Rahman and Mohammed Tushar progress toward their November 2026 court date, the broader New York City construction community is left to reckon with the damage done, vowing to rebuild a culture of compliance, vigilance, and uncompromising safety standards from the ground up.
