Sally Spinosa, 9/11 Benefits Fraud, New York 2023

Sally Spinosa, Former NYPD Sergeant, Charged with 9/11 Benefits Fraud

A former NYPD sergeant has been charged with two counts of making false claims for monetary awards and medical benefits by falsely and materially overstating the amount of time she spent on recovery efforts after the September 11, 2001, attack on New York, as well as one count of aggravated identity theft for submitting a fraudulent affidavit in connection with her benefits application.

Sally Spinosa, 67, served as an NYPD officer from in or about July 1986 until July 2019, and was a sergeant in the investigations unit of the NYPD’s Patrol Services Bureau of Staten Island (the “Staten Island Investigations Unit”) on September 11, 2001. She allegedly participated in a screening interview with the World Trade Center Health Program (the “WTCHP”) in 2010, in which she falsely stated that she worked for hundreds of hours at the Fresh Kills Landfill in Staten Island, New York (the “Landfill”), from September 2001 to June 2002.

In 2014, Spinosa allegedly applied for a monetary award from the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (the “VCF”) falsely claiming that she worked hundreds of hours in the recovery effort. The victim compensation funds are meant to provide some relief for victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Spinosa allegedly tried to defraud the government and take benefits from the fund that she did not deserve.

According to the allegations in the Complaint filed yesterday in Manhattan federal court, Spinosa surrendered this morning and will be presented before Magistrate Judge Kevin Nathaniel Fox in Manhattan this afternoon.

The charges brought today show that the Office of the Inspector General will thoroughly investigate allegations of fraud of these funds. “There is no place in the NYPD for criminal behavior,” said NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea. “I commend Deputy Commissioner Joseph Reznick and Internal Affairs officers for their thorough investigation, in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District, and the Office of the Inspector General.”

“When law enforcement officers break the laws they are sworn to uphold, they do a disservice to their fellow officers, to the departments that employ them, and to the public they serve,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss. “My Office will work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to uncover and prosecute such conduct.”

Defendant: Sally Spinosa

Criminal Charges: Two counts of making false claims for monetary awards and medical benefits, one count of aggravated identity theft

City and State: New York

Arrest Date: [Current Date]

Sentence or Outcome: Currently pending

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