(Bloomberg) -- New York authorities charged an engineeringfirm and one of its former executives with forging reports forhomes damaged in Hurricane Sandy to deny flood insuranceclaims.

Matthew Pappalardo and HiRise Engineering PC were named in a 50-countindictment accusing them of altering at least 25 engineering reports thathad been prepared by others, even though they didn’t participate inexamining the homes and weren’t licensed to do so, New YorkAttorney General Eric Schneiderman said Monday in a statement.

“Today’s charges reveal a flagrant disregard for the well-beingand safety of New Yorkers,” Schneiderman said in the statement.Pappalardo, 38, and Uniondale, New York-based HiRise were arraignedon Monday in Nassau County Supreme Court, according to thestatement.

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Disputes over insurance claims stemming from the 2012 hurricanespawned widespread litigation. Insurers that were sued in a relatedcivil case paid millions of dollars to homeowners in settlementsover allegedly manipulated reports, with some companies accused ofconspiring with engineers and lawyers to deny claims.

Lawmakers including U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and CharlesSchumer of New York and Robert Menendez and Cory Booker of NewJersey were pushing the Federal Emergency ManagementAgency to address potential manipulation in the handling offlood-insurance claims.

Schneiderman’s statement didn’t give a reason why Pappalardo orHiRise allegedly manipulated the reports.

A message left at HiRise’s headquarters wasn’t immediatelyreturned.

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