Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. today announced the guilty plea and sentencing of BOLA ALADE-GBAMI, 52, a NYC Administration for Children’s Services (“ACS”) employee, for falsifying his timesheets and stealing taxpayer money by claiming he was working while he was either on international vacations – including to Nigeria and Togo – or had not yet actually arrived at work. ALADE-GBAMI pleaded guilty to one count of Petit Larceny, a class A misdemeanor. As part of his guilty plea, he paid full restitution of $30,455 to the Department of Investigation.  

“This defendant has now returned more than $30,000 back to New York City thanks to the hard work of our prosecutors. During a time where our city budget is strained, our taxpayer dollars need to be put directly to services that will help New Yorkers. We will continue to prosecute those who defraud the public and think they can use city funds for their own personal use,” said District Attorney Bragg. 

DOI Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber said, “This defendant, a Child Welfare Specialist with ACS, falsified his time sheets and stole over $30,000 from the City including by claiming to work when he was vacationing outside of New York State, and internationally. Today he has pled guilty to this conduct and repaid the public funds that he received on the basis of his false statements. I thank the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for its prosecution of this matter.”  

The prosecution was the result of an investigation by DOI, which received an anonymous tip regarding the possible theft, in partnership with the Manhattan D.A.’s Office.

As admitted in his guilty plea, ALADE-GBAMI worked for the City of New York and was a Congregate Care Specialist with ACS from August 29, 2016, to February 6, 2022. A Congregate Care Specialist coordinates transportation and chaperones trips for children going to and from school and other appointments. 

He began working as a Community Associate for ACS on February 6, 2022, and then as a Child Welfare Specialist for ACS on September 19, 2022.  According to court documents and statements made on the record, from June 2017 to February 2023, ALADE-GBAMI submitted dozens of fraudulent timesheets through the New York City payroll system known as CityTime.  

While he traveled abroad and domestically, ALADE-GBAMI submitted timesheets that claimed he had worked regular and overtime hours for the same periods. Records from various airlines and U.S. Customs and Border Protection show that he made the following trips from New York City or New Jersey: 

• Lagos, Nigeria, from September 2 to September 17, 2017 
• Lome, Togo, from November 24 to December 3, 2017 
• Lagos, Nigeria, from April 21 April 28, 2018 
• St. Louis, Missouri, from May 29 to June 2, 2018 
• St. Louis, Missouri, from September 11 to September 14, 2020 
• Dallas, Texas, from March 10 to March 14, 2022 
• Dallas, Texas, from September 9 to September 14, 2022 
• Dallas, Texas, from February 18 to February 27, 2023 

In sum, ALADE-GBAMI was paid approximately $21,002.76 by the City while he was traveling outside of New York City. While he was a Congregate Care Specialist, he used ACS’s contracted car service. The car service can only be used by Congregate Care Specialists for approved trips, such as school, court, or medical appointments, while chaperoning children. Instead, ALADE-GBAMI used the car service to commute to work even though he was not chaperoning a child or working in any capacity for ACS. He falsified his work arrival and departure times, and ACS documentation — including GPS records from the car service — showed different arrival times than his timesheets. 

Assistant D.A. Nina A. Vershuta handled the prosecution of this case under the supervision of Assistant D.A.s Hope Korenstein, Kelly Thomas (Deputy Chiefs of the Financial Frauds Bureau); Kofi Sansculotte (Chief of the Financial Frauds Bureau); Deputy General Counsel Ryan Gee; and Jodie Kane (Acting Chief of the Investigation Division). Paralegal Krisellie Acevedo, Investigator Noah Dent, and Supervising Financial Investigator Eric Rothmann are assisting with the investigation. 

D.A. Bragg thanked New York City Department of Investigation.  The investigation was conducted by DOI’s Office of the Inspector General for ACS, specifically Confidential Investigator Shameika Nixon, with assistance from Senior Timekeeper Phillippa Nunes, under the supervision of Assistant Inspectors General Octavia Hill and Bradley Howard, Deputy Inspectors General Gladys Cambi and Harlyn Griffenberg, Senior Inspector General Laura Millendorf, Deputy Commissioner of Strategic Initiatives Christopher Ryan and Deputy Commissioner/Chief of Investigations Dominick Zarrella.  

DEFENDANT INFORMATION:
BOLA ALADE-GBAMI
Newark, N.J. 

Convicted: 

• Petit Larceny, a class A misdemeanor, one count

Sentenced:

• Conditional Discharge
• $30,455 in restitution

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