Rockland County District Attorney Thomas E. Walsh II, together with New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang, announced Wednesday that Dr. Lena Samuel, 47, of New City, was arraigned in Rockland County Court on charges of defrauding the State of New York of approximately $27,000.
Samuel, employed as a Medical Review Consultant for the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA), was indicted on one count of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree and 29 counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree.
According to prosecutors, between November 25, 2023, and November 24, 2024, Samuel submitted timesheets to OTDA claiming she was working remotely while in fact she was physically employed at Saint Dominic’s Family Services in the Bronx during those same hours.
Investigators also allege that Samuel submitted three falsified doctor’s notes to support her remote work application. The notes purportedly came from a physician named Joan Ellen Rose, M.D., of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, though Mount Sinai confirmed that no such doctor has ever been employed there.
“This defendant sought to enrich herself at taxpayer expense, by claiming State pay for hours she did not work,” said District Attorney Walsh. “Public service is a public trust, and those who betray that trust will be held accountable.”
Inspector General Lang added: “Fraud against the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance is a crime against New Yorkers in need and against all taxpayers. Thank you to Rockland County DA Walsh and his team for their partnership in seeking accountability for this breach of the public trust.”
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Katherine Crispi following an investigation conducted by the Rockland County District Attorney’s Special Investigative Unit and the New York State Inspector General’s Office.
