PLAINFIELD — The two police officers accused of stealing more than $11,000 from the city by filing fraudulent timesheets have now been suspended without pay, according to the city's department of public affairs and safety.

Two Plainfield police officers who allegedly filed fraudulent timesheets have been indicted for stealing more than $11,000 in illegally billed pay.

In a 39-count indictment handed down Monday, Sgt. Leslie Knight and Lt. James Abney were charged with offenses including official misconduct, theft by deception, conspiracy, falsifying records and computer theft.

The pair, each with more than a decade of service in the police division, are due for their first court date on Wednesday.

A department spokeswoman confirmed that Knight, 44, and Abney, 46, had been given unpaid suspensions, and said the office has no further comments at this time.

The indictment alleges that Knight intentionally faked extra-duty job vouchers, overtime reports and accumulated time reports on a total of 31 occasions between Feb. 7, 2012 and Oct. 31, 2013. Abney is accused of doing the same 17 times between Jan. 6, 2012 and July 23, 2013.

Believing an investigation was underway, Abney then engaged in “conduct which a reasonable person would believe would cause a witness to testify falsely and/or withhold any testimony” in April of this year, the indictment said. Details of the alleged witness tampering were not provided.

Knight is further charged with using another employee’s username to access the database of work, sick, vacation and accumulated time in her efforts to obtain extra pay.

Knight took home more than $6,800 in illegally billed payments, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor John Esmerado, who is handling the case. Abney allegedly collected more than $4,200.

Both Knight and Abney served as ranking officers while they were allegedly filing false work claims, according to the prosecutor's office. During this time, Knight was also in charge of overseeing the scheduling of all extra-duty work by Plainfield officers.

Last year, Knight earned a salary of $99,584, while Abney earned $118,492, according to public records. Abney has served in the Plainfield police division for 19 years, and Knight for 12.

If convicted, the officers would be permanently barred from holding any public-sector job in New Jersey.



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Katie Lannan may be reached at klannan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @katielannan. Find NJ.com on Facebook.