New York State Inspector General Letizia Tagliafierro announced today the sentencing of two staff members for a State juvenile detention center’s private medical services provider for stealing and assisting in the theft of earnings.
Roy Hammonds, 65, of Nyack, was sentenced to $10,000 restitution, three years of probation and a $1,000 fine for his prior larceny conviction in Brooklyn. Patricia Armstrong, 67, of Kingston Avenue, Brooklyn, who pleaded guilty as part of the same case late last year to Attempted Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree, was sentenced to $2,500 restitution, a $1,000 fine and a conditional discharge.
Hammonds, a physician’s assistant, and Armstrong, a nursing supervisor, both stole thousands of dollars in unearned salary each while employed at Brooklyn’s Ella McQueen (juvenile detention) Reception Center. Both were employees of Correctional Medical Care (“CMC”), a company that provides medical staff to New York State correctional facilities, including the Ella McQueen Reception Center in Brooklyn. The Ella McQueen Center is a juvenile detention center reception facility run by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (“OCFS”).
“These two defendants should have been helping vulnerable youth but instead they billed for hours they never worked and stole from New York taxpayers,” said Inspector General Tagliafierro. “I will continue working with my law enforcement partners to pursue anyone who steals taxpayer funds.”
An investigation by the Offices of the New York Inspector General found that Armstrong completed her own as well as Hammond’s time records and submitted them to CMC’s headquarters for payment. The timesheets Armstrong submitted contained false information. Under contract with the State, CMC directly pays its employees and is reimbursed by the State subsequent to the submission of invoices.
Inspector General Tagliafierro thanked New York State Attorney General Letitia James and her office for their work prosecuting these cases.