Three New York City prison guards, including an engaged couple, were jailed for faking sick leave and earning taxpayer-funded salaries for more than a year.
The three defendants are employed at Rikers Island, the problem-ridden and chronically understaffed prison located on the East River in Manhattan.
Steven Cange, age 49, Monica Coaxum, age 36, and Eduardo Trinidad, age 42, have been charged with federal program fraud for exploiting the paid sick leave policy. The three individuals forged hundreds of doctor’s excuses for ailments to their shoulders, elbows, wrists, fingers, hips, knees, and ankles.
In the face of an ongoing personnel shortage at Rikers Island, the defendants robbed New Yorkers by illegally earning their full pay while taking over a year of sick leave, according to United States Attorney Breon Peace.
These correction officers violated their oath to protect prisoners and endangered the safety of their colleagues.
Cange, a corrections officer with the DOC since late 2014, has allegedly been on sick leave since March 2021 while receiving a full salary of almost $160,000.
Similarly, Trinidad got a salary in excess of $140,000 despite reporting repeated injuries.
Monica Coaxum, who is engaged to Trinidad, allegedly earned $80,000 from March 2021 to May 2022 while faking several sicknesses and illnesses.
According to their wedding website, Coaxum and Trinidad, who met at work in 2020, have been arranging their wedding during their vacation time.
In October 2021, while on sick leave as a Rikers Island guard, Eduardo Trinidad engaged in building labor.
On March 2022, when he was out sick from his job as a prison guard, Eduardo Trinidad was seen bowling in a video.
New York’s Rikers Island prison in Manhattan’s East River, where three guards were arrested for system fraud by calling in ill for more than a year while continuing to collect their pay.
While on lengthy paid leave and maintaining perfectly healthy and active lifestyles, each officer submitted to the New York Department of Corrections dozens of phony doctor’s notes.
All three cops are suspected of forging scores of medical records saying they attended medical appointments, which providers disproved to law enforcement officials investigating the crimes.
Cange stated he suffered from a variety of maladies, including vertigo and adverse COVID-19 vaccination after effects. He allegedly submitted more than one hundred phony medical notes to the DOC indicating that he had seen physical therapy or other medical providers.
Cange was spotted by law enforcement personnel participating in everyday tasks without apparent difficulty.
Coaxum claimed that she had sustained injuries to her knee, shoulder, wrist, and elbow, while Trinidad claimed that he had sustained injuries to his shoulder, elbow, wrist, fingers, hip, knee, and ankle.
Both said they were unable to return to work owing to ‘trauma’ stemming from the physical harm for which they underwent surgery.
During the investigation, investigators analyzed the defendants’ phone records and iCloud and discovered a discussion on Coaxum’s device in which she freely discussed cheating her employer.
According to a criminal complaint, a person in a group chat wrote, “Monica, you’re living your best life, but you’re swindling your employer.”
Yes, at home, you continue to be compensated for your sick child. Get like me! Living my best life,’ Coaxum answered.
She then sent a party photo of herself and her fiance.
The pair submitted hundreds of phony doctor’s notes and regularly violated the DOC’s mandate that they reside outside of the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Coaxum and Trinidad were ultimately informed that their job would be terminated if they did not return to work.
The New York City prison is famously understaffed and has been the site of a number of severe problems, including suicide attempts and prisoner deaths.
According to each guard’s union contract, the unlimited paid sick leave for DOC officers covers “the full term of any incapacity owing to illness, accident, or mental or physical defect, whether or not service-connected.”
If an officer requires medical leave for more than two consecutive days, he or she must report to the Health Management Division of the Department of Corrections.
In addition, if an employee has been on sick leave for more than eight days in a calendar year, he or she is not permitted to leave the home between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. to prevent system abuse.
If a medical appointment falls outside the hours of 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., an officer must “log out” of their residence by notifying the DOC before leaving and upon their return. Within 48 hours of the appointment, he or she must also present documents to the DOC proving the legality of the appointment.
The criminal complaint against Coaxum and Trinidad states, ‘These correction officers have committed fraud by abusing DOC sick leave policies to avoid work, falsely claiming they were too injured or sick to work, making false statements to the DOC about how they spend their time, and, in some cases, submitting false documentation to the DOC regarding medical appointments they did not attend.’
Each officer faces a maximum of ten years in jail if convicted.
These three officers’ acts contributed to the personnel shortages that have plagued Rikers Island for a long time, including prisoner fatalities and suicide attempts, as well as a growing list of increasingly serious problems, including as prisoner deaths and attempted suicides.
Michael Nieves was the thirteenth inmate to be believed to have committed suicide at the prison in August of this year.
A DOC captain and two guards were suspended for allegedly observing Nieves bleed to death in front of them after he slashed his throat with a razor.
Bill de Blasio, the former mayor of New York City, committed to close the entire jail complex by 2026 and create four new jails at a total cost of $8.7 billion. The idea was later delayed until 2027, but the current mayor, Eric Adams, has expressed doubt that the prison will be closed by then.
I need idealistic people to deal with the realism of this situation… What do we do with those who continue to commit shootings, robberies, assaults, rapes, and other crimes when the number of individuals who can fit in the borough-based jails remains high? What should we do with them?’ said Adams in September.
More than 5,700 convicts were housed at Rikers as of August 2022.