Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a Baldwin school aide was charged with allegedly falsifying timesheets claiming that she was working with a fourth-grade student with special needs in the Hempstead Union Free School District when she was not, which resulted in her being paid more than $10,000 in wages to which she was not entitled.
Keenya Lessey, 48, of Baldwin, was arraigned today before Judge Veronica Renta-Irwin on charges of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree (a class D felony) and Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree (a class E felony). The defendant pleaded not guilty and was released on her own recognizance. She is due back in court on November 8, 2024.
If convicted, the defendant faces up to 2-1/3 to 7 years in prison.
"This defendant allegedly claimed to work with a student, even on days when the student was absent," DA Donnelly said. "This behavior blatantly disregards the professional trust afforded the defendant and strips resources from those who truly need them."
DA Donnelly said that, according to the charges, the defendant was assigned to work with a student at the Academy Charter School in Uniondale through Horizon Healthcare Staffing (Horizon), a company that contracts with the Hempstead Union Free School District to provide certified nursing assistants, aides, and paraprofessional services to students identified as having special needs.
The defendant was employed by Horizon beginning in September 2021, and was assigned to work with a fourth-grade student in December 2021.
To receive her wages, the defendant was required to submit a weekly time sheet indicating each day that she was present for work and the hours that she worked.
According to the criminal complaint, between February 7, 2022, and June 24, 2022, the defendant allegedly submitted 19 timesheets attesting that she was present for work at the school between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to assist the student.
Some of the defendant’s timesheets reflected days she purportedly worked when school was not in session and closed, including the school’s winter break, or dates when the student’s school attendance records indicated that the child was absent.
According to the investigation, the defendant’s timesheets contained the signature of the school’s Director of Student Services. However, the Director did not sign the timesheets and did not authorize anyone to sign the timesheets on her behalf.
Many of the alleged falsified timesheets in which the defendant stated that she had worked a full day coincided with dates and text message communications where the defendant allegedly told school staff she would not be present at work or she was on her way to the school, but never appeared.
In total, between February 7, 2022, and June 24, 2022, Horizon paid the defendant $10,866 that the defendant was not entitled to receive. Consequently, Horizon billed the Hempstead Union Free School District for the defendant’s services.
Lessey surrendered to NCDA Detective Investigators on October 30, 2024, in Mineola.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Investigative Counsel Jennifer Contreras of the Major Financial Frauds Bureau under the supervision of Bureau Chief Maureen McCormack and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for the Investigations Rick Whelan. The defendant is represented by Peter Troxler, Esq.
The charges are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless found guilty.