Jovanny Concepcion, ex-Rikers Island correction officer from Ronkonkoma, sentenced to 2 years' probation for ill-gotten workers' comp payments

A federal judge sentenced a former New York City Department of Correction officer from Ronkonkoma Friday to 2 years probation after he admitted lying about on-the-job injuries and reaping more than $200,000 in workers’ compensation payments.

Jovanny Concepcion, 34, must spend the first eight months of his sentence under home detention and also complete 300 hours of community service, according to a news release from the New York City Department of Investigation.

The former correction officer agreed to pay $232,427 in forfeiture and restitution when he pleaded guilty on June 1 to making a false statement related to healthcare matters before Judge Lewis J. Liman of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Newsday previously reported.

He earned at least that amount by lying to the state Workers’ Compensation Board, its physicians and third-party medical examiners about injuries he claimed he suffered through use-of-force incidents involving inmates held on Rikers Island, where he worked.

"Correction officers are entrusted with significant authority and a responsibility to exercise it with integrity,” New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang said in a statement. “By fraudulently collecting more than $200,000 in workers’ compensation benefits, this former correction officer betrayed that trust, abused public resources, and undermined a system meant to protect workers who are legitimately injured on the job.”

Concepcion's attorney, Lauriano Guzman Jr., did not immediately return a telephone message seeking comment Friday.

Concepcion began his tenure as a correction officer in June 2017. He resigned in April 2021, by which point he earned $60,335 a year. The city’s investigation into Concepcion and other officers began after multiple agencies reported “excessive workers’ compensation claims involving City correction officers,” Newsday previously reported.

Todd Faustin, 43, of Coram, who also worked as a Rikers corrections officer, previously pleaded guilty before the same judge to similar charges, Newsday previously reported. Faustin agreed to repay $370,336.79 in restitution and forfeiture.