Contractor defrauds homeowners out of $200G, Nassau DA says 

Nassau County prosecutors charged an Amityville man Monday with defrauding two Long Beach homeowners out of $200,000 meant for home construction.

Peter Ferrigan, owner of the Long Beach-based PBF Home Improvements, LLC., surrendered Monday to Nassau County district attorney detectives ahead of his arraignment, prosecutors said.

He pleaded not guilty Monday to felony grand larceny and scheme to defraud related to two home repairs in between November 2017 and January 2021. He was released without bail while awaiting trial, prosecutors said.

"Mr. Ferrigan enjoys the presumption of innocence and we look forward to seeing the evidence the district attorney has against my client,” Ferrigan’s attorney David Arpino said. “We have not been provided any discovery, all we have are the allegations.”

In the first case, prosecutors said Ferrigan was hired in November 2017 by a homeowner to do construction of a home on California Street in Long Beach. He was paid $268,000 for the project, but didn’t finish the work.

Detectives examining Ferrigan’s bank records between Sep. 30, 2020, and Oct. 27, 2020 alleged he misappropriated about $28,000 of the payment for unrelated business and personal expenses, including airline tickets, jewelry, loan payments, and for expenses related to a construction project on Arizona Avenue.

Prosecutors said in another case, Ferrigan’s company was hired July 25, 2019 to do demolition and new construction at a Long Beach home on Arizona Avenue. He was paid $852,095 under a contract to complete the project, but authorities said he didn’t finish construction at the home.

Bank records between Aug. 5, 2019, and Jan. 19, 2021, showed Ferrigan spent more than $170,000 of the homeowner’s funds on other construction jobs and personal expenses, including loan payments, marine insurance, attorney fees, restaurant bills, tuition, and child support,  prosecutors said.

“This defendant took on home improvement projects for two Long Beach residents and allegedly left them high and dry, stealing a total of nearly $200,000 of their payments without completing construction,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a statement.

Ferrigan faces between 5 to 15 years in prison if convicted, prosecutors said.

According to a Newsday data base, Ferrigan had also qualified for two paycheck protection loans during 2020-2021, worth $25,000, that were later forgiven.

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.