|
05
04
KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES,
RICHMOND COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY DANIEL M. DONOVAN JR.,
QUEENS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY RICHARD A. BROWN AND
MEREDITH WILEY, STATE DIRECTOR OF
FIGHT CRIME: INVEST IN KIDS ANNOUNCE NEW REPORT ON THE EXTENT OF
CHILD ABUSE ACROSS NEW YORK STATE
LAW ENFORCEMENT LEADERS SAY BREAK CYCLE OF CHILD
ABUSE AND NEGLECT THROUGH VOLUNTARY HOME VISITING PROGRAM;
CALL FOR INCREASED FUNDING
AT LEAST 77,000 CHILDREN IN NEW YORK SUFFERED ABUSE
AND NEGLECT IN 2010 – MORE THAN 200 EVERY DAY; 114 OF THOSE
CHILDREN DIED AS A RESULT OF THE ABUSE
Brooklyn, April 17, 2012 –
Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes, Richmond
County District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan Jr., Queens
County District Attorney Richard A. Brown, New York State
Director of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, Meredith Wiley, and crime survivors
announced a new report showing the extent of child abuse and
neglect across New York State.
They also emphasized the benefits of voluntary home
visiting services, which can reduce child abuse and neglect
by as much as 50 percent.
On behalf of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, the three District Attorneys released a
report indicating that at least 77,000 children in New York
State suffered abuse and neglect in 2010 – more than 200
every day. 114
of those children died as a result of the abuse.
District Attorney Hynes said, “We are concerned about
child abuse and neglect as a reality for far too many
children, not just statistics on a sheet of paper.
Nationally, there were almost 700,000 confirmed cases
of child abuse and neglect that claimed the lives of 1,560
in 2010, and 114 of those kids were from New York.
That number should shock the conscience of every one
of us.”
“One of the most difficult aspects of my job is
dealing with the victims of crime and their families.
There’s no punishment that can undo their anguish.
If we continue to allow thousands of children each
year to be berated, beaten, brutalized and neglected, we
will pay dearly not only in taxpayers’ dollars, but in
crime, violence and shattered lives.”
Abuse and neglect often contributes to future crime,
and in some cases, actually constitutes a crime.
Research shows that while most survivors of child
abuse never become violent criminals, they are 30 percent
more likely to become violent criminals than those without a
history of abuse.
“One of the primary responsibilities of government is
to protect the safety of its citizens, and in particular,
those citizens who are most vulnerable and cannot protect
themselves,” said D.A. Donovan. “But even more so, we as a
society have a moral obligation to do whatever we can to
keep our children safe – and this early intervention program
does just that. The voluntary home visiting service helps to
break the cycle of child neglect and abuse, while also
saving us the substantial cost of shattered lives,
escalating violence and future criminality.”
Queens County District Attorney Richard A. Brown
said, “As prosecutors, we are able to apprehend and
prosecute many of the people who hurt children. But by the
time they come to our attention, far too many children have
already been battered, bruised, left unfed, sexually
assaulted—and, sadly, killed.
Investing in home visitation programs that can help
prevent child abuse and neglect now will hopefully lead to
fewer children being harmed in the future and lessen the
human and economic costs associated with child abuse.”
The recent report emphasizes the benefits of
voluntary home visiting services, which helps new parents
cope with the stresses of raising a young child.
Research shows that quality home visiting programs
can reduce child abuse and neglect by as much as 50 percent,
significantly reduce later crime, and it will save taxpayers
a lot of money.
Survivors are more likely to abuse their own children,
creating a cycle of violence that can span generations.
This amounts to about 3,000 additional violent
criminals in New York State who would not become criminals
if not for the abuse and neglect they endured, according to
Fight Crime: Invest in
Kids.
The report details research on programs proven to
prevent early abuse and neglect. A study of one program
model, the Nurse-Family Partnership
program, compared at-risk children whose mothers received
visits with similar children whose families were not served.
Children who did not participate had twice as many incidents
of abuse and neglect as children in participating families.
By age 15, youth whose families did not participate
in the program had more than twice as many arrests.
One site of the quality nurse
home visitation program found significantly fewer cases of
childhood injury and child mortality among families who
participated.
By reducing child abuse and neglect and later crime
and other negative outcomes, evidence-based home visiting
programs are highly cost-effective. Analysis from the
Washington State Institute for Public Policy showed that the
Nurse-Family Partnership program produced a net savings of
almost $21,000 for each family served.
New York State can only realize
such returns through investing in proven, evidence-based
programs; policymakers need to ensure public investments are
directed to those services.
Law
enforcement leaders are also calling upon the New York State
Legislature and Governor Andrew Cuomo to maintain funding
for voluntary, high-quality home visiting programs and to
aggressively pursue federal funding available to expand
these services.
District Attorney Hynes released an open letter to policy
makers, signed by more than 1,560 law enforcement leaders
nationwide (more than 200 from New York); one for every
confirmed child who died from abuse or neglect in 2010.
In the 2011 fiscal year, New York spent less than $50
million from combined local, state and federal sources for
two voluntary home-visiting programs that have strong
evidence they reduce child abuse and neglect. The Nurse
Family Partnership Program and Healthy Families combined
currently serve less than 10 percent of families of newborns
who would otherwise qualify and benefit from these services.
Child abuse and neglect is defined as:
-
Any recent act or
failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which
results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual
abuse or exploitation; or
-
An act or failure to
act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm.To
report child abuse, call the Child Abuse Hotline number at
the New York State Central Register for Child Abuse and
Maltreatment at (800) 342-3720. The website is
www.ocfs.state.ny.us/main/prevention.
Call 911 if it appears that immediate action needs to be
taken to protect the welfare of the child.
Fight Crime:
Invest in Kids is a non-profit anti-crime organization of
over 5,000 police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors and violence
survivors. Their
mission is to take a hard-nosed, skeptical look about what
really works – and what doesn’t work – to get kids off to
the right start in life and to keep them from becoming
criminals. It
then places that information in the hands of policymakers,
the media and the public.
Contact:
For DA Hynes: Sandy Silverstein
(718) 250-2300
For DA Donovan:
Peter Spencer
(718) 556-7150
For Fight Crime: Invest in Kids:
Meredith Wiley
(518) 424-1007
03
KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT
ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES AND NEW YORK CITY HUMAN RESOURCES
ADMINISTRATION COMMISSIONER ROBERT DOAR ANNOUNCE INDICTMENT
OF COUPLE CHARGED WITH RAIDING TRUST CREATED FOR THEIR
DISABLED SON
AFTER THE CHILD’S DEATH,
INSTEAD OF USING TRUST PROCEEDS TO REIMBURSE STATE FOR
MEDICAID EXPENSES, PARENTS CHARGED WITH DRAINING ACCOUNT AND
BUYING A HOUSE WITH CASH
Brooklyn, April 16, 2012 – Kings County District
Attorney Charles J. Hynes and New York City Human Resources
Administration Commissioner Robert Doar, today announced the
indictment of two parents charged, after their disabled son
died, with draining more than $1 million from a trust
created to supplement his medical care but which, after his
death, was supposed to be used to reimburse HRA for his
medical expenses. Both defendants were arrested Friday,
April 13, attempting to make a withdrawal on the trust
within minutes of a scheduled transfer from an annuity to
the trust account.
“Instead of spending their son’s money to improve his short
and difficult life, these defendants placed him in state-run
hospitals and waited till he died, to spend his money on
themselves,” said District Attorney Hynes. “I would like to
thank Commissioner Doar and HRA for assisting in this
investigation.”
“HRA is responsible for ensuring that Supplemental Needs
Trusts are used for what they are intended for, and we take
that very seriously,” said HRA Commissioner Robert Doar. “In
this case, not one penny was spent for the disabled child
during his lifetime, but his parents stole all the funds
from the trust for their own benefit after his death. HRA’s
duty is also to make sure any funds remaining after death
are returned to the Medicaid program as required by law so
they can be used to help other vulnerable New Yorkers in
need. Brooklyn District Attorney Hynes and his team have
been key allies in the prosecution of those who commit
Medicaid fraud and today I want to thank him once again for
that commitment.”
The top charge against Edwin Sanango, 39, and Marlene
Romero, 37, is Grand Larceny in the First Degree, which
carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
Their son, Eddie, was born in 1993. He was left permanently
disabled, as the result of negligent medical care during the
delivery. Sanango and Romero, on behalf of Eddie and
themselves, won a $2 million judgment against the hospital,
$150,000 of which was paid out to them immediately. The rest
was placed in an annuity, with regular payments deposited
into a Supplemental Needs Trust, created to cover Eddie’s
living expenses and still allow him to qualify for Medicaid.
Sanango and Romero were named joint trustees. The indictment
charges that Sanango and Romero agreed that during Eddie’s
life, state Medicaid funds would cover his sizeable
health-care expenses, but that when he died, HRA would be
reimbursed for those costs from the balance of the trust.
Any remainder would be paid to Sanango and Romero.
After spending his entire life institutionalized, Eddie died
in March 2008. The charges indicate that the defendants
resisted HRA’s repeated attempts to contact them for
reimbursement for the more than $1.8 million it spent on
Eddie’s treatments. No withdrawals were made on the trust
during Eddie’s lifetime, but an investigation revealed that
between his death and March 2012, more than $1 million was
removed from the account.
The charges indicate that Sanango has been seen on bank
surveillance video withdrawing thousands of dollars in cash,
within an hour of annuity payments being deposited in the
trust. Both defendants have made personal checks and
transfers to themselves from the trust account, since their
son’s death, according to the charges. The investigation
also revealed that in November 2008, the defendants paid
$275,000, in cash, for a home in Pennsylvania.
An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a
defendant’s guilt.
The investigation was conducted by Detective Investigators
Kevin McAleese and Efrain Alvarado, Supervising Detective
Investigator Clyde Augustine, from the Brooklyn District
Attorney’s Office, and Investigator Tom Toth and attorney
Allison Gill of the New York City Human Resources
Administration.
The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Bureau Chief Sabrina
Thanse of the Public Assistance Crimes Unit. Lauren Mack is
the Chief of the Public Assistance Crimes Unit.
Contact: Jonah Bruno
(718) 250-2300
02
KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT
ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES, NEW YORK CITY HUMAN RESOURCES
ADMINISTRATION COMMISSIONER ROBERT DOAR, AND NEW YORK STATE
WELFARE INSPECTOR GENERAL SEAN COURTNEY ANNOUNCE AN
INDICTMENT CHARGING A MAN WITH FRAUDULENTLY COLLECTING
$6,000 IN FOOD STAMP BENEFITS FROM 26 VICTIMS
DEFENDANT
CHARGED WITH IMPERSONATING A SOCIAL SERVICES EMPLOYEE AND
PRESSURING VICTIMS TO GIVE UP THEIR ACCOUNT INFORMATION
Brooklyn, April 10, – Kings County District Attorney
Charles J. Hynes, New York City Human Resources
Administration Commissioner Robert Doar, and New York State
Welfare Inspector General Sean Courtney today announced the
indictment of Kenley Stanislas, 46, who is charged with
fraudulently gaining $6,000 in food-stamp assistance from
the accounts of at least 26 food stamp recipients by
illegally obtaining their personal identification.
“This case demonstrates why you should never give out
any personal identifying information to strangers on the
phone: the caller is likely to be a thief who wants to use
that information for his or her own benefit,” said District
Attorney Hynes. “I would like to thank Commissioner Doar and
Inspector General Courtney for helping insure that social
services go only to those who need them, not to crooks
trying to make an extra buck.”
Inspector General Courtney said, “I
thank District Attorney Hynes and his Public
Assistance Crimes Unit, along with HRA's Bureau of Fraud
Investigation, for their swift and vigorous actions leading
to the arrest of Kenley Stanislas. Our agencies' combined
efforts will finally bring to an end Stanislas's career of
stealing food stamp benefits from those in need. We will
continue to work together to make sure that public benefits
reach families and individuals for whom they are intended.”
“Those who intentionally steal from
government programs meant for those in need should be
forewarned that this will not be tolerated and they will be
prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said HRA
Commissioner Doar. “This defendant repeatedly took advantage
of his fellow New Yorkers by posing as an investigator and
threatening them with loss of benefits, to steal food out of
the mouths of children and vulnerable adults. I want to
thank District Attorney Hynes for his commitment and
partnership in pursuing these serious crimes.
If someone suspects that their benefits
have been stolen, contact the HRA Bureau of Fraud
Investigation at 212-274-5030.
The charges indicate that between November 4, 2011
and January 30, 2012, Stanislas called 26 food-stamp
recipients claiming to be a social services agency employee.
He is charged with threatening that if they did not
tell him their food-stamp account and social security
numbers, he would immediately terminate their food-stamp
benefits. He then accessed the accounts, according to the
charges.
According to the indictment, when the
victims attempted to make purchases with their food-stamp
card, they were told the account had been frozen or that the
money was gone.
The victims, including an 89-year-old man, lost hundreds of
dollars each.
Charges against Stanislas include Criminal Possession
of Public Benefit Cards in the First Degree, Grand Larceny
in the Third Degree, Identity Theft in the First Degree,
Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, and Welfare Fraud in
the Third Degree. If convicted, the defendant faces a
maximum of fifteen years in prison.
An indictment is an accusatory
instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.
The investigation was conducted by
Confidential Investigator Ismael Zayas of the Office of the
Welfare Inspector General, and by Senior Investigator Nyah
Paul of the New York City Human Resources Administration.
The case is being prosecuted by Deputy
Bureau Chief Sabrina Thanse of the Public Assistance Crimes
Unit. Lauren Mack is the Chief of the Public Assistance
Crimes Unit.
Contact: Mia
Goldberg
(718) 250-2300
01
KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES
ANNOUNCES SECOND ANNUAL ANTI-BULLYING VIDEO CONTEST
FOURTH THROUGH NINTH-GRADE STUDENTS SHOULDER ENTER
NOW. WINNER WILL BE “DA FOR A DAY”AND TAKE PART IN A PRESS
CONFERENCE
Brooklyn, April 4, 2012 –
Kings County District
Attorney Charles J.
Hynes has announced his Second Annual Legal Lives
Anti-Bullying Video Contest.
Students in the fourth through ninth grades
throughout Brooklyn are encouraged to enter the contest
right away by submitting a video about bullying.
The deadline for video submissions is Friday, June 1,
2012.
Bullying has increasingly become a growing problem in
schools and the online community.
It is intentional, aggressive behavior that involves
an imbalance of power or strength, typically repeated over
time. Bullying
has a serious effect on its victims, often leading to
depression, and in some cases, it may even lead to suicide.
District Attorney Hynes said, “The goal
of the contest is to raise the consciousness of not only
children, but teachers, administrators and parents to the
reality of bullying and how each of them has to step up and
be a part of solving this problem.
If more young people were to take a stand against
bullying, then the phenomenon would likely diminish over
time.”
Participants are being asked to create a 90-second video
that answers one of the following
questions:
1)
What is bullying?
2)
How does bullying make you feel?
3)
What does a bully look like?
4)
How can you stop a bully?
5)
What should you do if you are being bullied?
Videos will be judged on creativity, so students are
encouraged to use music, dancing or pictures.
To submit a video, students will need to upload their
video as a response to the DA Hynes Announces Anti-Bullying
Video which can be found at:
http://youtu.be/Y0dZHPc1PyM.
The
winner will serve as “DA for the Day” and will spend the
entire day with District Attorney Hynes.
The winner will have the opportunity to attend
meetings and conferences with DA Hynes during the day.
In
2010, Nairan St. Phard and Jeremiah Hyde created a rap video
about bullying and performed it live at a press conference.
As DA for the Day, the two fifth graders attended
meetings with District Attorney Hynes and honored
outstanding students at the
Progress Through
Justice Awards.
Nairan and Jeremiah’s winning Anti-Bullying Video can
be found by visiting www.youtube.com/brooklyndaconnect
Contact:
Sandy Silverstein
(718) 250-2300
|
