Freehold Woman Charged In Connection With Sept. 11 Benefits Fraud

FREEHOLD, NJ - A Freehold woman was charged in Manhattan federal court this week for reportedly overstating the amount of time she spent on recovery efforts after the Sept. 11 attacks, according to the U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of New York.

Sally Spinosa, 55, was charged Thursday with two counts of making false claims for monetary awards and medical benefits. She was also charged with one count of aggravated identity theft for submitting a fraudulent affidavit in connection with a benefits application.

Spinosa was employed as an NYPD officer from around July 1986 until July 2019 and was a sergeant in the investigations unit of the NYPD’s Patrol Services Bureau of Staten Island on September 11, 2001, according to court documents. In 2010, Spinosa participated in a screening interview with the World Trade Center Health Program (a medical benefits program for Sept. 11 responders and survivors) in which she falsely stated that she worked for hundreds of hours at the Fresh Kills Landfill in Staten Island from September 2001 to June 2002, prosecutors said.

In 2014, Spinosa also applied for a monetary award from the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, falsely claiming that she was at the Landfill for two hours each day for 62 straight days from September 20, 2001, to November 20, 2001, according to the complaint. Spinosa submitted several documents, including an affidavit signed by one of her supervisors, which prosecutors say was fraudulently signed. In fact, Spinosa spent little to no time at the landfill, court documents allege.

Prosecutors say that, during much of the time Spinosa claimed to be working at the landfill, the Freehold woman was pregnant and doing limited work or was out of the office on parental leave.

However, since 2017, the World Trade Center Health Program has since paid for certain medical visits and prescription drugs for Spinosa.

“After the September 11 attacks on New York City, the brave men and women of the NYPD risked their lives and safety to rebuild the City,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss.

“As alleged, former NYPD sergeant Sally Spinosa exploited her position by brazenly – and falsely – claiming to have worked hundreds of hours in the recovery effort. When law enforcement officers break the laws they are sworn to uphold, they do a disservice to their fellow officers, to the departments that employ them, and to the public they serve. My Office will work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to uncover and prosecute such conduct.”

Spinosa faces over 25 years in prison if convicted of the charges.