Correction Officer Sentenced to Prison for $370K Workers’ Comp Fraud
- A former New York City correction officer at Rikers Islan was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison and one year of supervised release after pleading guilty to workers’ compensation fraud after collecting more than $370,000 in benefits after reporting injuries from use-of-force incidents with incarcerated individuals at Rikers Island.
- The case grew out of a broader Department of Investigation probe triggered by referrals flagging an unusually high volume of workers’ comp claims among correction officers and in May 2025, prosecutors charged Faustin and two colleagues, who together sought nearly $1 million in benefits.
- Faustin ultimately pleaded guilty only to the false statement charge related to his own workers’ compensation claim. U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman ordered Faustin to pay $370,336.79 in both restitution and forfeiture.
- A related report found the city paid over $340 million in workers’ compensation claims to Department of Correction employees in Fiscal Year 2024 alone — a 337% jump from about $78 million in Fiscal Year 2015 — prompting recommendations for stronger anti-fraud oversight and updated departmental comp policies.
Board Upholds Delay of Expedited Hearing for Robbery Victim’s Comp Claim
- Tennessee’s Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board found no due process violation in a judge’s decision to push back an expedited benefits hearing for a Walgreens employee who said health issues had prevented her from taking part in mediation or court sessions.
- The claim stems from a June 2, 2025 incident in which a robber held the worker at gunpoint and made her open a safe at her Walgreens location; she wasn’t reported as physically harmed, but flagged a psychological injury two days afterward, prompting the company to approve counseling.
- She went on to request wage-loss and medical coverage for a range of physical complaints tied to the robbery, among them a claimed brain injury. However, she skipped a mediation session the court had ordered, saying that she was in the hospital due “brain fog” and drug side effects which had prevented her from appearing at hearings.
- The board sided with the judge’s judgment call that the unrepresented claimant might not be well-positioned to handle an expedited hearing on her own, citing the state’s requirement that parties mediate in good faith and remanding the case back to administration hearings.