ACS Employee Submitted Falsified Timesheets While Traveling Abroad to Nigeria, Togo

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. and New York City Department of Investigation (“DOI”) Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber today announced the arrest of BOLA ALADE-GBAMI, 72, 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 vacation – including in Nigeria and Togo – or had not yet actually arrived at work.

ALADE-GBAMI is charged in a New York City Criminal Court felony complaint with 1 count of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree and 8 counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree.^[1]  

“This defendant swore an oath to serve the people of New York City but instead allegedly swindled thousands of dollars of taxpayer money through dishonesty,” said District Attorney Bragg. “Our charges include allegations that this city worker was supposedly clocking into work when he was actually traveling abroad in Africa. The Manhattan D.A.’s Office does not tolerate fraud in any form, and I thank the Department of Investigation for its ongoing partnership.”
 
DOI Commissioner Strauber said, “During a Citywide staffing shortage, this Child Welfare Specialist, as charged, clocked in while he was not working, including when he was traveling abroad, and claimed overtime hours that he never worked. This brazen misconduct, as alleged, is a violation of his duty to the City and to the public, and it is also a crime. I thank the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for their partnership on this investigation.”
 
The charges announced today are 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.
 
ALADE-GBAMI has worked for the City of New York since 1996. He was a Congregate Care Specialist with the Administration for Children’s Services 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 $21,000 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, which is intended to provide transportation for agency staff and children in the agency’s care. 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 is handling the prosecution of this case under the supervision of Assistant D.A.s Hope Korenstein, Ryan Gee, and Kelly Thomas (Deputy Chiefs of the Financial Frauds Bureau); Kofi Sansculotte (Chief of the Financial Frauds Bureau); 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. These discrepancies total more than $9,000 in stolen City time.
 
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/Chief of Investigations Dominick Zarrella and First Deputy Commissioner Daniel Cort. D.A. Bragg also thanked New York City Administration for Children’s Services.
 
DEFENDANT INFORMATION:

BOLA ALADE-GBAMI
Newark, N.J.

Charges:

• Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, a class D felony, one count
• Offering a False Instrument for Fling in the First Degree, a class E felony, 8 counts

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[1] The charges contained in the complaint are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. All factual recitations are derived from documents filed in court and statements made on the record in court.