Sanjai Syamaprasad, 48, of Brooklyn, was sentenced Thursday, Nov. 20, in Nassau County Court after pleading guilty to recording patients and staff inside multiple bathrooms at the Northwell Health Sleep Disorders Center in Great Neck.
He confessed to hiding cameras made to look like smoke detectors in staff and patient bathrooms between July 2023 and April 2024. One device was also placed inside a public restroom at STARS Rehabilitation, which shares the same building.
During that time, the cameras captured recordings of thousands of people, investigators said. So far, five individuals — including a child — have been positively identified from reviewed footage.
After each shift, Syamaprasad removed the devices and downloaded the recordings onto an SD card, prosecutors said.
Northwell Health reported the conduct to the DA’s office in April 2024 after a coworker found one of the devices. Investigators later executed a search warrant at Syamaprasad’s Brooklyn home, seizing electronics including laptops, phones, and an SD card reader.
Syamaprasad tried to destroy evidence once he realized he was under investigation. A Nassau County Police detective ultimately recovered a discarded smoke-detector camera from a dumpster behind a CVS in Brooklyn.
Syamaprasad was arrested on April 25, 2024. In July, he pleaded guilty to five counts of unlawful surveillance and two counts of tampering with physical evidence.
Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly called the conduct “truly nauseating” and said the former technician “preyed on innocent patients through a spy camera lens.”
Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of seven to 21 years in prison, but the judge ultimately imposed a six-month sentence, along with five years of probation.
Investigators are still working to identify additional victims. Anyone who used the bathrooms at the sleep center during the recording period and wants to know whether they were affected is encouraged to contact the Nassau County DA’s Criminal Complaints Unit.
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