A Connecticut Army National Guard soldier who also worked as a Rikers Island corrections officer has been charged with defrauding both the Department of Veterans Affairs and the New York City Department of Correction.
In a release, Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said that Shawn Pierre Hobbs, 34, was arrested April 12 in El Paso, Texas on wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges.
According to charging documents, Hobbs is alleged to have defrauded VA and NYC DoC in order to receive financial and other benefits to which he was not entitled.
Strauss said Hobbs “ allegedly submitted false certifications to receive veterans benefits for hundreds of hours of work he did not perform. Moreover, Hobbs allegedly forged the signatures of his colleagues to make the fraudulent paperwork appear to be authentic”
According to a complaint unsealed in Manhattan federal court, Hobbs served in the National Guard from April of 2015 to April of 2021. He worked as a New York City corrections officer from Jan. 19 through April 8 in a VA-approved on-the-job training program.
From about January 2019 through March 2021, Hobbs “defrauded the VA and NYC DoC in order to obtain VA benefits and paid military leave from NYC DoC, among other things,” the release states. “Specifically, Hobbs submitted eight fraudulent military memoranda purportedly from the Army National Guard to NYC DoC in order to obtain paid leave.”
The fraudulent military memoranda each bore the seal of the United States Department of Defense and the letterhead of the Army National Guard, and falsely represented that Hobbs had served military duty on hundreds of days on which he, in fact, had not served, the release states.
At the same time, Hobbs faxed 16 fraudulent employment certifications to the VA that were purportedly from NYC DoC and falsely represented that he had worked for NYC DoC for hundreds of hours, which he had not worked.
“To effectuate this scheme, Hobbs used the names, identities, and signatures of an Army National Guard Platoon Leader, an Army National Guard Readiness Noncommissioned Officer, and a NYC DoC employee without their knowledge or authorization on the fraudulent military memoranda and employment certifications,” the release reads.
Hobbs has been charged with one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory consecutive term of two years in prison.
“Hobbs’s alleged conduct certainly does not befit that of a sworn officer of two government agencies,” said Strauss.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.
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