Ronkonkoma man ordered to pay back workers' comp he pocketed while city correction officer

A former Rikers Island correction officer from Ronkonkoma charged for lying about injuries sustained in use-of-force incidents, and collecting more than $200,000 in workers' compensation, must return the money under the terms of his guilty plea, city and state officials announced.

Jovanny Concepcion, 34, pleaded guilty Monday before U.S. District Court Judge Lewis J. Liman in the Southern District of New York to making a false statement related to healthcare matters, according to a news release from the New York City Department of Investigation, the city’s watchdog agency, which has been investigating alleged phony workers' compensation claims filed by correction department employees.

Concepcion is at least the second former officer with the New York City Department of Correction from Long Island since March to plead guilty to making false statements in order to pocket workers' compensation funds. On March 17, Todd Faustin, 43, of Coram, pleaded guilty before Liman to the charge in relation to healthcare matters, according to a separate investigation department news release.

Concepcion worked as a city correction officer for nearly four years, beginning in June 2017. During his tenure Concepcion said "he was injured while on duty at Rikers Island during incidents with incarcerated individuals requiring the use of force," the release said. He subsequently made false statements to the New York State Workers Compensation Board, as well as its own physicians and "independent medical examiners," the release said.

He received "at least $232,427 in benefits to which he was not entitled," city investigators said.

As part of his guilty plea, Concepcion agreed to pay $232,427 in forfeiture and restitution, the release said. He will return to court for sentencing on Sept. 10.

Lauriano Guzman, the defense attorney representing Concepcion, declined to comment when reached by telephone Monday afternoon.

A spokesperson for the city investigation department declined to comment when asked whether Concepcion would receive any jail time at his sentencing.

Faustin agreed to pay $370,336.79 in restitution and forfeiture. He'd worked as a correction officer, including at Rikers, from December 2011 until resigning the day he pleaded guilty.

Concepcion earned $60,335 annually at the time of his April 2021 resignation, according to the release. Faustin earned $109,350 a year by his March resignation.

Investigations into both men began after multiple city agencies sounded alarms regarding an increase in workers comp benefits to correction department employees. In conjunction with the investigations, the New York City watchdog agency found the city paid more than $340 million in workers' compensation benefits to correction department employees in 2024, according to a May 2025 report. That same year, the city paid a combined $225 million to all other mayoral agencies.

The watchdog agency issued a pair of recommendations each to the city’s correction and law departments to prevent more fraudulent workers comp claims, according to the May 2025 report.

Three changes have been accepted but not yet implemented according to the investigation department’s online policy and procedure recommendations portal. The correction department said it "will consider" the fourth proposal to appoint a director of workplace safety in charge of "reviewing areas where accidents reportedly took place and determining whether those areas are properly maintained and supervised," the report said.