Former corrections officer pleads guilty to insurance fraud [Niagara Gazette, Niagara Falls, N.Y.]

Mar. 8—A former corrections officer faces seven years in prison after pleading guilty to charges related to insurance fraud.

Charles Epps II, 56, of Buffalo, pleaded guilty Wednesday before State Supreme Court Justice Paul B. Wojtaszek to one count of third-degree insurance fraud and third-degree grand larceny (class "D" felonies).

Between August 2021 and Nov. 7, 2022, Epps falsely reported his employment status while collecting Workers' Compensation benefits and Social Security Disability benefits by claiming that he was unable to work due to an ongoing injury. Epps, who was injured in July 2020 while working as a corrections officer for the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, fraudulently collected a total of $52,542.07 in benefits while employed as a bus operator.

As a condition of the plea, Epps signed two Confessions of Judgment to pay full restitution of $35,544.67 to the New York State Insurance Fund and $16,907.40 to the Social Security Administration.

"In addition to pleading guilty today, I am pleased to announce that this defendant has been ordered to pay back the money he stole from the taxpayers of New York. I would like to thank the New York State Inspector General's Office and the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision for their work on this investigation and their partnership with my office. Together, we will continue to uncover the criminals who defraud the state systems that help the injured and disabled and hold them accountable for their crimes," said Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn.

"All New Yorkers should be outraged that DOCCS is facing a daily staffing crisis due in large part to abuses of the Workers' Compensation system," added Inspector General Lucy Lang. "That this correction officer was uniquely situated to understand the impact that his unjustified absence posed to the safety of staff and incarcerated individuals alike, but still prioritized his own self-interest is unconscionable."

Epps faces a maximum of seven years in prison when he is sentenced on May 22. He was released on his own recognizance.

Flynn commended the New York State Inspector General's Office, Social Security Administration and the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision for their work in this investigation.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Robin J. Deubler of the Special Investigations and Prosecutions Bureau.

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