According to federal prosecutors, three city correctional officers allegedly feigned ailments and took more than a year of sick leave, earning their entire paychecks while actually doing things like traveling, partying, and even writing a comic book.
Officers Steven Cange, 49, Eduardo Trinidad, 42, and Monica Coaxum, 36, were arrested Thursday morning and were scheduled to appear in federal court later that afternoon, city and federal officials said. Later, all were released on bail.
“As stated, in the midst of an ongoing personnel crisis on Rikers Island, defendants defrauded New Yorkers by fraudulently obtaining their entire salary while taking more than a year of sick leave,” said US attorney Breon Peace
Cange, who made more than $160,000 a year, took sick leave in March 2021, claiming he suffered debilitating side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine, according to his criminal complaint.
He submitted more than 100 bogus receipts to physical therapy and other doctors for appointments, but when the records were subpoenaed from the medical providers, law enforcement realized the appointments never happened.
The complaint alleges that Cange spent his time pursuing “his interest in comic books.”
He even bragged about it on Instagram, writing, “I just had an amazing meeting for [his] his book” and then announcing the launch on the social network, the complaints say.
The comic “Cure for Utopia” is set in a dystopian future in which crime and disease have been almost eliminated, while its protagonist is forced to kill without remorse.
Coaxum was on leave from March 2021 to May 2022 for fake injuries while earning $80,000 a year, authorities said. Officials caught her numerous times away from home at parties when she should have been home.
When questioned about the claims, he admitted to investigators that he forged 50 fake medical documents justifying his injury leave, according to a separate criminal complaint.
Trinidad, Coaxum’s fiancée, faked injuries to stay out between June 2021 and November 2022 by showing up for medical appointments with the city’s Department of Correction “using a combination of sling, cane and/or boot,” according to the couple’s indictment.
However, investigators caught Trinidad at home working around the house and even bowling on leave, authorities said.
The couple was caught traveling to the Dominican Republic, Florida, and West Virginia and provided the department with notes from doctors saying they were on appointments, according to the complaint.
The allegations come amid a two-year staffing crisis at the city jails.
City Correctional Officers have unlimited sick time as part of their contract.
“According to the allegations, these New York City prison officers pretended to be sick and presented false medical records to take sick leave during a personnel crisis, defrauding New York City for hundreds of thousands of dollars,” reads the declaration. DOI Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber. “Today’s arrests make these prison officers responsible for the shameful breach of duty denounced in the complaints.”
Union president Benny Boscio condemned the alleged actions.
“Obviously, these are extremely serious allegations and, if true, they do not represent the 99% of our officers who work overtime with no meals to keep our city safe every day,” he said. “COBA in no way encourages our members to go home sick without a valid reason, and this type of behavior does a great disservice to their fellow officers.”
