A seasoned worker of the City’s Administration of Kid’s Services allegedly lied about being at work to earn his taxpayer-funded salary – when in truth he was on trips to Africa and across america, authorities announced Wednesday.
Bola Alade-Gbami, 72, is accused of stealing $21,000 from town while sitting at home or on out-of-town trips – including to Texas, Missouri and Nigeria – not less than eight times since 2017, the Department of Investigation said. press release.
Alade-Gbami – whose job includes arranging school trips for at-risk children under the care of the ACS – also used a automobile service contracted by a city agency to have a chauffeur to work, despite not being the kids’s guardian on the time, officials alleged.
“During a citywide staffing shortage, this childcare specialist was alleged to have registered when not working, including when traveling abroad, and claimed never to have worked additional time,” DOI Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber said in an announcement. .
“This brazen misdemeanor, in keeping with the costs, is a violation of his duty to town and the community,” Strauber said, “and can also be a criminal offense.”
![New York City Administration for Children's Services offices.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/NYPICHPDPICT000012327423.jpg?w=1024)
Alade-Gbami, who worked at town agency since 1996 and had an annual salary of $104,207 in 2022, was charged with one count of grand larceny and eight counts of offering a false instrument for a first-degree filing, which is a felony.
He’s accused of repeatedly falsifying his time sheets to assert that he worked when he was at home, was late for work, or was out of town on trips to Dallas, St. Louis, Nigeria and Togo, most recently February 27.
Prosecutors said Alade-Gbami also used his job as a community care specialist – who takes care of children with ACS in classes and other appointments – using a taxpayer-funded automobile service for commuting.
Even with the city-funded allowance, Alade-Gbami allegedly didn’t arrive at work on time several times but lied on his time sheet to gather about $9,000 in unearned pay, prosecutors said.
![Manhattan Attorney Alvin Bragg.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/NYPICHPDPICT000011245305.jpg?w=1024)
“This defendant took an oath to serve the people of New York, but as an alternative allegedly extorted hundreds of dollars from taxpayer money through dishonesty,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in an announcement.
“The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office doesn’t tolerate fraud in any form,” said Bragg.
Alade-Gbami was indicted within the Manhattan Supreme Court and released without bail pending his return to court on June 21, prosecutors said.
There was no comment from him on Wednesday.
“We adhere to the best standards of our employees and don’t tolerate fraud,” an ACS spokesperson said in an announcement. “We thank the Department of Investigation for this thorough investigation. We’re taking disciplinary motion.”