Rikers officer who took $370K in phony workers' comp claims is sentenced

A former New York City correction officer was sentenced Tuesday to 15 months in federal prison after admitting he falsely claimed that he suffered injuries on the job to collect more than $370,000 in workers' compensation benefits, federal and city officials announced.

Todd Faustin pleaded guilty in March to making a false statement related to healthcare matters. U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman also sentenced him to one year of supervised release and ordered him to pay $370,336.79 in restitution and the same amount in forfeiture.

According to prosecutors, Faustin alleged he was injured during use-of-force incidents involving incarcerated people while working as a correction officer on Rikers Island. The fraudulent claims resulted in at least $370,336.79 in workers' compensation benefits paid through New York State's Workers' Compensation Board, with the costs ultimately borne by the New York City treasury.

"This defendant betrayed his position of trust as a City Correction Officer by falsely claiming injuries he did not suffer to fraudulently obtain workers' compensation benefits," DOI commissioner Nadia Shihata said in a statement. "Thankfully, he is no longer employed by the City Department of Correction and, in addition to prison time, as part of his sentence must repay the City funds he illegally obtained."

State Inspector General Lucy Lang said the case demonstrates that "those who violate public trust and exploit worker protections will be held accountable," adding that fraudulent claims "deprive injured workers of the support they deserve and erode the integrity of our public institutions."

History of fraudulent DOC workers comp claims

The sentencing stems from a broader investigation launched by DOI after the agency received referrals from several city agencies, including the Law Department, concerning an unusually high number of workers' compensation claims involving correction officers.

In May 2025, federal prosecutors charged Faustin and two other correction officers with allegedly filing fraudulent injury claims tied to violent encounters with detainees.

At the time, prosecutors alleged Faustin submitted multiple false claims over several years, while the three officers collectively sought nearly $1 million in benefits. Faustin ultimately pleaded guilty only to the false statement charge related to his own workers' compensation claim.

The criminal investigation coincided with a DOI report that found workers' compensation costs for Department of Correction employees had risen dramatically over the previous decade. The agency reported that the city paid more than $340 million in workers' compensation claims to DOC employees during Fiscal Year 2024—about 50 percent more than the total paid to employees at all other mayoral agencies combined, excluding the NYPD, FDNY and Department of Sanitation.

DOI also found that workers' compensation expenditures for DOC employees increased from roughly $78 million in Fiscal Year 2015 to $341 million in Fiscal Year 2024, a 337 percent increase. Altogether, the city paid more than $1 billion in workers' compensation claims for DOC employees over Fiscal Years 2022 through 2024.

The 2025 report prompted DOI to recommend several anti-fraud reforms, including creating dedicated oversight positions within the Law Department and DOC, strengthening fraud detection efforts and updating departmental workers' compensation policies. 

Faustin joined the Department of Correction in December 2011. He was suspended in May 2025 after his arrest and resigned effective March 17, 2026. At the time of his resignation, his annual salary was approximately $105,000.