Omnibuild’s John Mingione Pleads Guilty in XI Scheme

Omnibuild’s former co-CEO John Mingione pleaded guilty to one criminal charge, springing from an alleged $86 million fraud scheme at HFZ Capital Group’s luxury condo projects.

Mingione and Kevin Stewart, an accountant for the construction firm, reached a deal with prosecutors to avoid trial, both entering guilty pleas during a Monday hearing in New York’s criminal court in Lower Manhattan. Neither will face jail time.

Mingione pleaded guilty to one count of criminal conspiracy. He is required to pay a $20,000 fine and complete 100 hours of community service. If he completes these tasks, his felony plea will be reduced to a misdemeanor criminal facilitation charge.

Stewart pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of criminal facilitation. Stewart will have to pay a $1,000 fine and complete 25 hours of community service. (Stewart’s attorney said the matter was resolved “with a single inchoate misdemeanor offense which allows Kevin to focus his time and attention to his family and his career.”)

Omnibuild entered into a deferred prosecution agreement. An independent monitor will oversee the company for six months. If Omnibuild complies with the monitor, all remaining charges will be dismissed, according to Omnibuild’s attorney Adam Konta of Konta Georges & Buza.

This puts much of a years-long legal saga against the contractor and its employees to rest. As a result of the plea deal, both charges will likely result in minor misdemeanor offenses with a fine and community service. Initially, the Omnibuild defendants were staring down numerous felony counts, including grand larceny, which, if convicted at trial, could have resulted in serious jail time.

As a result of these plea deals, prosecutors are now only pursuing former HFZ Capital exec Nir Meir, who they allege was the mastermind of the larger fraud scheme.

Omnibuild, Mingione and Stewart were indicted in February 2024 over allegations they conspired with Meir and others to inflate invoices for a project on the High Line called the XI. Invoices made the project seem as if its construction was further along than it was in order to trick the lender into releasing an additional $6.5 million to HFZ, according to prosecutors.

The goal of the alleged scheme was to cover shortfalls caused by Meir. Prosecutors alleged Meir diverted money intended for the project to other developments and accounts controlled by HFZ executives.

Both Omnibuild and Mingione maintained their innocence, arguing that they too were victims of Meir. Omnibuild’s lawyers also argued the firm never received any financial gain from the alleged scheme.

Omnibuild pursued a separate civil lawsuit against HFZ, its principals and the XI’s lenders, alleging it had repeatedly sounded the alarm on “financial issues and irregularities” on the project that went unheeded. Mingione resigned as CEO in May 2024 to focus on the criminal and civil cases.

The company’s employees also begged Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to drop charges against the firm, averring it had lost some $1 billion in work within just a few months of the indictment dropping.

Meir, who faces four indictments and has pleaded not guilty, was released from Rikers in June 2025 but confined to a New York City apartment with electric monitoring. In February, prosecutors indicated that they’d reached an “impasse” on reaching a plea deal with Meir. A trial date has not yet been set.

Other former HFZ employees, Louis Della-Peruta and Anthony Marrone, pleaded guilty to charges related to their roles in the alleged scheme. Last year, former Omnibuild project manager Roy Galifi admitted to running a separate kickback scheme with a subcontractor to squeeze another $300,000 from the XI’s lender.

Omnibuild and Mingione’s attorney said the resolution of the case prioritizes the jobs of the 150 Omnibuild employees.

“We’re thrilled at the outcome,” said Konta. “We really feel this is a just outcome that allows everyone to move forward, the company can move forward, John [Mingione] can move forward, and the employees’ employment is safe.”