MINEOLA, N.Y. – Clifford Whitaker, a 43-year-old Queens construction company owner, has been charged with attempting to defraud an elderly couple in Franklin Square out of $129,000 through a roofing repair scam and the use of a forged insurance approval document. Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced the charges following Whitaker’s arraignment before Judge Ryan Cronin. The charges include Insurance Fraud in the Second Degree, Attempted Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, Scheme to Defraud in the Second Degree, and Forgery in the Third Degree.
Whitaker pleaded not guilty. Bail was set at $50,000 cash, $125,000 bond, or a $250,000 partially secured bond. He was also ordered to surrender his passport. He is scheduled to return to court on April 7, 2025. If convicted, Whitaker faces a sentence of up to 2-1/3 to 7 years in prison.
According to the investigation, on March 8, 2025, Whitaker, the president of New Dawn Construction, approached an 80-year-old man and his 71-year-old wife at their home in Franklin Square. He claimed that he noticed roofing damage and offered to repair it for approximately $2,500. Over the course of five days, Whitaker and another unapprehended individual allegedly returned to the home multiple times, each time claiming additional damage and significantly increasing the cost of the work. By the end of the five-day period, Whitaker had inflated the cost to $129,000.
On March 10, Whitaker allegedly asked for the couple’s email address and then provided them with a document that appeared to be an insurance claim approval from Liberty Mutual. The couple was told they would be reimbursed by their insurance company if they paid the $129,000 up front. Investigators later confirmed that no actual insurance claim had been filed with Liberty Mutual and that the document provided was a forgery.
District Attorney Donnelly described the alleged scheme as a deplorable exploitation of vulnerable seniors. She emphasized that scams like these often increase during warmer months and urged residents to be cautious of unsolicited home repair offers. The investigation into the second suspect involved in the scheme is ongoing.
Whitaker was arrested on April 2, 2025, by Nassau County Police Department’s Fifth Squad detectives. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Angelo Macaluso of the Major Financial Frauds Bureau, under the supervision of Bureau Chief Maureen McCormack and Executive Assistant District Attorney for the Investigations Division Rick Whelan. Whitaker is represented by the Legal Aid Society.
