State suspends licenses of two security companies hired by DocGo
Albany NY September 27 2023 The New York Department of State has suspended business licenses for two security companies that were hired by DocGo, a private medical services company, to oversee activities at upstate hotels that have been transformed into migrant shelters under the company’s contract with New York City.
The companies, Wawanda Investigations and Security Company and Trace Assets Protection Service, have been in charge of security in the Capital Region and Buffalo area for DocGo — the publicly traded mobile health care company that was awarded a $432 million, no-bid emergency contract to coordinate sheltering and other services for thousands of migrants.
“The department is committed to ensuring the public’s safety and holding companies accountable if they are not fully compliant with the law,” Department of State spokeswoman Michelle Rosales said in a statement.
The companies were notified of the license suspensions on Sept. 20 by the Department of State, following allegations that some of their security guards lacked required credentials.
Security at the hotels in the Albany area has appeared to be scaled down in recent days.
The suspension of the companies’ licenses will remain in effect until a final ruling in an administrative hearing. Wawanda, working for DocGo in the Albany area, has a hearing scheduled for Nov. 7; Trace Assets, working for DocGo in the Buffalo area, has a hearing scheduled for Nov. 22.
The regulatory action comes three weeks after state officials notified the two security companies, and DocGo, that at least 50 security guards were working without proper licensing. State officials described those apparent violations as “significant.”
The issues uncovered by the state’s investigation included a series of problems involving one unregistered security guard in the Capital Region.
After being told by the state that the guard was not properly licensed, Wawanda said the person was working in an administrative capacity, according to the complaint in the case. But the person, according to the Department of State, was seen wearing a security uniform and carrying a statement that indicated he completed his licensing requirements under state law.
“By reason of (Wawanda)’s false and misleading statements with respect” to the security guard, the company “failed to cooperate with a departmental investigation,” according to the complaint.
New York City officials, including Mayor Eric Adams, have maintained their support for DocGo, despite the myriad of reported issues, including lies made by the company’s now-departed CEO, Anthony Capone.
Senior city officials testified to City Council members last week that it selected DocGo to run point on the relocating migrants upstate because they said the company has expertise in logistics, setting up operations in new areas quickly and hiring people to do the work.
“The upstate program was about moving into communities we’ve never been in. We have no footprint there. We have no infrastructure there,” George Sarkessian, chief of staff of New York City’s housing agency, said. “But we have hotels there and we have opportunity there to advance the decompression strategy down here. So this is what DocGo does, right?”
Sarkessian did indicate the city has terminated one contract with a different company since the beginning of the migrant crisis.
“We had issues with that particular security vendor so we’ve terminated that contract in particular,” Sarkessian said at a City Council hearing on Thursday.
Asked immediately after the hearing which company had its contract terminated, city officials did not elaborate. At the hearing, a different city commissioner chastised council members for misrepresenting facts or relying on inaccurate information from reporters; City Councilwoman Gale Brewer, D-Manhattan, responded that elected officials are often left with limited information based on what city agencies provide them.
On Tuesday afternoon, after a reporter notified them about the suspensions from the Department of State, a spokeswoman for the city continued to decline to identify the security company that had its contract terminated. It’s unclear if that company may be Wawanda.
The enforcement action by state officials adds to a series of issues that undermine the justifications by city officials for why they hired and have stuck with DocGo. News reports have previously detailed how security guards have sought to restrict the ability of migrants to speak to reporters. State Attorney General Letitia James’ office previously told DocGo to cease any limitations on the freedom of movement or speech by the migrants at the hotels.
DocGo, at the direction of the city, is supposed to provide security to assist hotel staff at any shelter or hotel that has at least 50 people staying there, according to DocGo’s contract with New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
The contract details that DocGo, at the direction of the city agency, is to pay security guards $50 an hour, and to have them on site 24 hours a day — which amounts to $1,200 per day, per guard.
