Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced on Wednesday, Oct. 9, that a former nursing assistant at the James J. Peters Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Fordham Manor has been sentenced to five years probation after pleading guilty to stealing a patient’s credit card and purchasing food deliveries, shoes and other items.

 

Reacting to the sentencing, Clark said, “The defendant, who was an employee of the hospital, violated her duty to the patient, a paralyzed veteran. She will now suffer the consequences of her behavior with a permanent criminal record.”

 

Christopher Algieri, special agent in charge of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General’s northeast field office said, “Today’s sentence sends a clear message that the VA Office of Inspector General will vigorously investigate VA employees who would exploit our nation’s veterans receiving care at VA medical facilities. The VA OIG thanks the Bronx District Attorney’s Office for their efforts in this case.”

 

The defendant, Unique Allen, 34, of Buck Street, The Bronx was sentenced on Wednesday to five years probation on one count of fourth-degree grand larceny by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Timothy Lewis. She pleaded guilty to that charge on Aug. 30.

 

Prosecutors said that on or between Dec. 8, 2019, and Jan. 20, 2020, Unique Allen, then a full-time nursing assistant in the spinal cord injury unit at the James J. Peters VA Medical Center, located at 130 West Kingsbridge Road, used the credit card information of a 72-year-old paraplegic patient to buy food, shoes, bath items and movie tickets worth about $600. They said she attempted to purchase $2,000 in other items but was rejected.  Allen was subsequently fired from her position for an unrelated reason.

 

The case was prosecuted by Sarah Clements, supervising assistant district attorney and Jared Rosen, major case assistant district attorney with the Public Integrity Bureau and under the supervision of Allison Riesel, deputy chief of the Public Integrity Bureau and Omer Wiczyk, chief of the Public Integrity Bureau, and under the overall supervision of Denise Kodjo, deputy chief of the investigations division and Wanda Perez-Maldonado, chief of the investigations division.

 

Clark thanked Nathanielle Filius, supervising trial preparation assistant with the investigations division and Margaret Williford, trial preparation assistant with the Public Integrity Bureau, Rosanna Gallego-Manzano, former assistant district attorney and former Detective Investigator Yanireth Pascal for their assistance with the case.

 

She also thanked Special Agent Vanessa Velazquez of the Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General for her assistance with the case.

 

To read some more veterans-related coverage, click here, here, here, here, here, and click here to read a recent op-ed by Chad Royer.