A federal lawsuit accuses members of the New York National Guard and publicly contracted relief workers of sexual exploitation and violence against asylum seekers.
Seven asylum seekers alleged that the incidents happened after they were transported to the Quality Inn in Cheektowaga, near the Buffalo Niagara International Airport.
DocGo, a New York City-based company that houses migrants, set up a Humanitarian Emergency Relief and Response Center at the hotel. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, alleges that the hotel was “dilapidated” and migrants were forced to sleep on mattresses with “deep stains” that “were infested with insects, leading to the children living there being repeatedly bitten across their bodies.”
The migrants were also sexually exploited by New York National Guard Sgt. Deven Colon and other unnamed individuals, the suit alleges. DocGo employee Rigoberto Nuñez was also accused of physically assaulting one asylum seeker.
During one incident, Colon allegedly brought gifts to a female asylum seeker, made “sexual comments” and took the unidentified woman “out of the facility to his home and to other locations for what Colon called ‘dates,’” according to the lawsuit.
“These interactions are documented by dozens of text messages between Jane Doe and Colon,” the suit says. “In those messages Colon represents to Jane Doe that he has a great authority to help her, tells her that he would like to help her get a house, and that he will always support her and her children.”
On one occasion, Colon allegedly snuck the woman and her children out of the hotel and took them to a rental property hours away. The lawsuit alleges that he “demanded sexual favors in exchange for his assistance to her and her family.”
“Jane Doe, who had journeyed through jungles with her children, evaded sexual traffickers in Mexico, and crossed rivers, suddenly found herself in a snow-covered rural property in America (where she was totally isolated) with her children, facing pressure from a member of the NY National Guard for sex,” the suit says.
Colon, who is named as a defendant, could not be reached Wednesday at a phone number listed for him. A spokesperson for Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office said the allegations are “completely unacceptable and Governor Hochul has prioritized taking action to keep everyone in the State of New York safe.”
“The New York National Guard, as part of the United States military, has an independent disciplinary process under military law which will be followed to the fullest extent in order to hold offenders accountable,” the spokesperson said.
Hochul’s office is not named in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also describes another instance where Colon allegedly took a different migrant and her teenage daughter off the premises. It accuses him of massaging the woman’s shoulders “while staring at her teenage daughter and asking her daughter to sit beside them.”
The woman complained about the encounter to Jane Doe, according to the lawsuit.
Jane Doe’s teenage daughter was also allegedly taken by a National Guard member to a private section of the hotel that did not have cameras. The suit says the Guard member “groped her legs and told her she was beautiful until her daughter ran.”
The encounters left Jane Doe and her family living in fear that they would be expelled from the hotel “like other asylum seekers who fell in disfavor with the National Guard or DocGo staff,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit further alleges that National Guard members, including Colon, and DocGo employees, including Nuñez, were “observed dancing intimately and romantically kissing guests.”
The New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs, also a defendant, commented on the allegations in an emailed statement Wednesday, but did not say if they are investigating.
“The Division of Military and Naval Affairs takes all allegations of misconduct regarding our personnel very seriously — and if allegations are substantiated following an investigation — can result in adverse administrative and/or disciplinary actions pursuant to regulation and New York State Military Law,” the agency said. “Criminal activities are referred to law enforcement for appropriate action.”
Nuñez is also accused in the lawsuit of “openly harassing and physically assaulting guests.”
One alleged incident occurred in November following an argument between asylum seeker Alexander Jose Vizcaino Marrufo and his wife, Florangelis “Flor” Maria Cabreara Medina, according to the lawsuit.
It says that Nuñez entered the room with Colon and several security guards, and Nuñez began assaulting Marrufo “without any provocation, even strangling him as Flor begged Nuñez to stop.” It’s not clear if Marrufo received any medical treatment.
Marrufo was kicked out after Nuñez contacted Cheektowaga police, according to the lawsuit.
Subsequently, Marrufo “found himself homeless in Buffalo, first spending several days seeking shelter behind a dumpster near a gas station,” the suit says. “He now survives by seeking day labor, trading work for a place to stay, and resorting to sleeping on floors, in utility closets, and in basements offered by those willing to give him random work.”
His wife is subjected to “frequent taunting from Nuñez” and “lives in constant fear” at the center, the lawsuit says.
Attempts to reach Nuñez were unsuccessful, and it’s not clear if he has obtained an attorney.
DocGo, also named as a defendant, declined to comment specifically on the lawsuit, but said in a statement that it is “committed to ensuring the continued safety and well-being of everyone under our care” and it conducts “rigorous, evidence-based internal investigations into allegations regarding DocGo staff.”
“Since the launch of our program, we’ve worked with government partners to ensure we are delivering excellent, compassionate care to asylum seekers,” the statement said. “Emergency sites where DocGo provides services have received many visits from multiple city and state agencies since our contract began, including the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) who confirmed our commitment to safety and the respectful treatment of all guests.”
The lawsuit was filed by several migrants and employees of Platinum Community Care, a subcontractor of DocGo, who reported the alleged incidents to upper DocGo management. One employee alleges she was terminated over her complaints, while another resigned in frustration that the complaints were ignored.
The plaintiffs are seeking no less than $9 million.
