Rikers officer pleads guilty to sickout fraud

A Rikers Island correction officer who was busy posting pictures of himself installing drywall and bowling when he called out sick has pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges.

The troubled jail complex was in the midst of a staffing crisis when Eduardo Trinidad, 42, claimed to be too injured to work.

For more than a year, he collected more than $140,000 in salary, saying he could not sit, run or lift anything since taking his unlimited sick leave in June 2021.

But photos and video showed he was fit enough to travel, do home improvement work and bowl a few frames. He showed up for checkups at Rikers Island with his arm in a sling or his foot in a boot to keep the deception going.

Trinidad, who entered his guilty plea in Brooklyn Federal Court on Tuesday, is the last of three correction officers, one of them his fiancée, to take plea deals after they were busted in November as part of a long-running investigation into sick leave abuse.

He could face just 10 to 16 months behind bars based on federal sentencing guidelines, and must pay more than $119,000 in restitution, though the maximum sentence he and his co-workers face is 10 years in prison.

At his court hearing Tuesday, Trinidad said he suffered legitimate injuries in his hand and leg, but lied about the pace of his recovery.

“I am very sorry,” he said, breaking down in tears, “and deeply regret my actions. They do not represent who I am.”

The probe began in late 2021 during the final months of the de Blasio administration, while Rikers struggled with a massive number of officers out sick or not showing up at work through the height of the pandemic. Between Sept. 13 and Nov. 2, 2021, for example, 155 officers were caught absent without leave and suspended.

The problem continued well into 2022. The Daily News previously reported that hundreds of officers had abused sick leave policies.

Officers out sick also played a cat-and-mouse game with investigators trying to verify they were home, The News reported.

Trinidad’s fiancée, Monica Coaxum, was also out for more than a year, claiming a series of injuries, “trauma” and illness, prosecutors said. In reality, the couple went gallivanting to Florida, the Dominican Republic and West Virginia.

Coaxum posted on social media, “Yes at home still getting paid, unlimited sick baby. Get like me! Living my best life,” prosecutors said.