Rikers Guards From Westchester Guilty In Sick Leave Fraud Scheme

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY — Two Westchester County residents who funded lavish lifestyles with fraudulently obtained sick leave payments have pleaded guilty in federal court.

In federal court on Tuesday, former New York City correction officer Eduardo Trinidad, a resident of Yonkers, pleaded guilty to federal program fraud, admitting that he fraudulently obtained his salary from the NYC Department of Correction (NYDOC) by taking sick leave even though he was able to work. Former NYC correction officers Monica Coaxum, of Harrison, and Steven Cange, of Brooklyn, pleaded guilty to the same charge last month.

All three defendants face up to 10 years in prison, when sentenced.

Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge, New York Field Office (FBI), and Jocelyn E. Strauber, Commissioner, NYC Department of Investigation (DOI), announced the guilty pleas.

SEE ALSO: Rikers Guards From Westchester Accused In Sick Leave Fraud Scheme: FBI

"The defendants have admitted stealing taxpayer funds by collecting their full salaries while falsely claiming they were too sick to work," Peace said. "Sick leave abuse is a plague on the New York City Department of Correction that puts fellow officers and inmates at risk during the ongoing staffing crisis in the jails. This Office is working with our federal and local law enforcement partners to identify those who exploit the sick leave policy and hold them accountable."

According to court documents, 42-year-old Trinidad claimed that he was unable to work for over a year due to an injury. He fraudulently obtained more than $119,000 in salary while on sick leave from June 2021 to October 2022. However, video and photographic surveillance showed Trinidad performing home improvement work, bowling, and traveling abroad without any difficulty or help from equipment like an orthopedic boot, sling or cane which he used when attending required check-ins with DOC medical officials.

36-year-old Coaxum, Trinidad's fiancée, also fraudulently obtained more than $80,000 in salary while on sick leave from March 2021 to April 2022. While she claimed to suffer from multiple injuries, investigators collected evidence showing that Coaxum was actually able to work. During her sick leave, Coaxum submitted almost 50 fraudulent medical notes to the DOC stating that she had gone to a medical appointment at a time when law enforcement officers determined she was elsewhere. In addition, evidence showed that on some occasions when Coaxum claimed to be injured and at home, she was instead traveling and attending parties.

According to their wedding website, Trinidad and Coaxum met in 2020 and are scheduled to get married in July 2023.

While Coaxum claimed that she was too injured to work and delayed surgery, prosecutors contend she abused the DOC "log out" system for personal activities, including traveling to the Dominican Republic, Florida and West Virginia, while claiming she was at medical appointments or at home.

Federal agents said her iCloud account contained photographs and videos showing Coaxum living an active lifestyle despite her claims of being too injured to work. Authorities discovered that while on sick leave, on Dec. 19, 2021, video and photographs show her dancing at a party.

Federal investigators said that on January 23, a video documents a WhatsApp conversation between Coaxum and her family members. At one point in the conversation, one of the family members told Coaxum, "Monica you living your best life but scamming your job." She responded, "Yes at home still getting paid, unlimited sick baby. Get like me! Living my best life." Coaxum then sent a photograph of herself and her fiancé, Trinidad, at a party. A conversation participant responded, "I don’t need to get like you[.] I’m doing it right way…" The participant added in a follow -up message, "It don’t look like you hurt in these pics tho," and later three separate messages, each of which said "Scamming."

"These correction officers faked medical documentation to take sick leave they were not entitled to in the midst of a city jail staffing crisis," DOI Commissioner Strauber said. "They violated DOC policy, and they broke the law. Their conduct — including travel around the country, partying, bowling, and home repairs, on stolen sick leave time — is an insult to the correction officers who do their jobs, who show up to work and risk their personal safety on a daily basis. I thank the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their partnership in bringing this case to a close."

The three were arrested in November and resigned from the NYCDOC in January of this year.