Two brothers were indicted for exploiting two Spanish-speaking day laborers and refusing to pay them, prosecutors announced Friday.
Gzim “Jimmy” Shabaj and Lulzim “Luis” Shabaj, both 41, as well as their business, 3 Brothers GC Corp., were charged with scheming to defraud and effect of failure to secure compensation. Gzim also faces charges of assault, attempted assault, criminal mischief and menacing.
The charges against the Shabaj brothers come in the wake of the creation of the Worker Protection Unit, which seeks to investigate and prosecute wage theft and other forms of worker harassment and exploitation across Manhattan’s many industries as well as pursue criminal charges against individuals and corporations that jeopardize their workers’ safety and steal their wages. This case marks the first official case for the unit.
“Wage theft is very clearly a public safety issue,” said District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. “These workers demanded their fair pay, and in return, we allege, they were targeted with physical violence and threats of deportation. We will not stand idly by while hardworking New Yorkers’ lives and livelihoods are jeopardized. I urge anyone who has been a victim of wage theft or dangerous workplace conditions to call our new Worker Protection Unit at 646-712-0298.”
According to court documents, twin brothers Gzim and Lulzim own 3 Brothers GC Corp., a general contracting company that operates many construction sites throughout the series. In the fall of 2022, the brothers allegedly hired two day laborers to perform roofing, painting, and electrical work at 128th West 118th Street in Harlem and at other properties. Prosecutors say that the defendants paid the workers for approximately one month before allegedly abruptly stopping, promising that they would pay them later while the men continued to work.
On Sept. 10, 2022, one of the workers asked Gzim for his wages, and Gzim allegedly refused before pulling out a knife and repeatedly punching the victim’s head, causing his ear to bleed. The brothers allegedly stole $1,470 from the worker for refusing to pay six days of wages.
Then, on Sept. 30, 2022, the second worker tried to cash a paycheck for $3,000 but the check allegedly bounced. When the worker asked for his wages, Gzim allegedly ripped the side-view mirror off the worker’s van, and repeatedly hit the van with the mirror, denting its hubcap and cracking his windshield. Gzim also allegedly hit the victim and said, in sum and substance, “You’re Hispanic. I’ll call immigration. You SOB, f-you. Hispanics get out of the country.”
The worker then called 911 and Gzim allegedly fled the scene. When police arrived, Lulzim allegedly gave officers the wrong birthdate and name for his twin, and later canceled an additional paycheck. In total, the brothers stole $6,150 from the worker by canceling two paychecks.
In addition to the Worker Protection Unit, D.A. Bragg announced the creation of the first-ever Stolen Wage Fund for Manhattan victims of wage theft, which is funded by the D.A.’s Criminal Justice Investment Initiative and operated in partnership with the New York State Department of Labor. Bragg also recently joined Assemblymember Catalina Cruz and State Senator Neil Breslin to support their bill that would enable prosecutors to charge wage theft as larceny.
