BUFFALO, N.Y. — A former New York State Parks employee has pleaded guilty to stealing from his job.
NYS Offices of Inspector General say Kevin Cottrell, 62, of Niagara Falls, stole over $8K for submitting fraudulent time sheets. . He plead guilty to the one count of Petit Larceny in connection with his submission of fraudulent time sheets to get unearned wages.
Cottrell will now have to pay $8,539.39 in restitution to the state.
Officials say Cottrell had been running a private guided tour company while claiming to be a worker for the state.
Investigators found over 148 instances between 2016 and 2020 where Cottrell wrongfully logged hours on his time sheets, indicating he worked full days when he had not. They say Cottrell was in Canada during a portion of his workday which would not put him in a position to preform his work duties for the state.
“Integrity is a crucial element of serving this great state,” said Inspector General Lucy Lang in a release. “Defrauding New Yorkers out of promised services not only hurts all taxpayers but reduces trust in government. New Yorkers should rest assured that OIG is focused on holding public servants accountable and ensuring all who work for the state are committed to doing so honestly.”
Cottrell's sentencing is scheduled for December 4.
