According to the NY State Inspector General’s Office, a Central New York Psychiatric Center employee, Ryan Haley of Rome, NY, has been arraigned on multiple charges as of early last month stemming from a workers’ compensation back injury. Haley claimed he was unable to work, however, it was discovered that he was just busy kayaking while on a Caribbean vacation in Puerto Rico.
Ryan Haley originally reported a “work-related” injury in 2015, claimed to be unable to perform his duties as a Security Hospital Treatment Assistant, and used this as an excuse to take time off on two occasions in 2016, during which he collected an approximate total of $2,693.80 in compensation.
However, according to Catherine Leahy Scott, the NY State Workers’ Compensation Fraud Inspector General, Haley was found to have been vacationing in Puerto Rico in April 2016, and taking a kayak excursion, “certifying that he was physically fit and had no back injury” after signing a medical release.
It was also discovered that during the first instance in February 2016, Haley was found to have been vacationing in California with his girlfriend.
Furthermore, on May 28th, 2017, Haley was accused of physically attacking one of the patients in his care at the psychiatric center after a verbal argument, that allegedly lead to Haley putting his arms around the patient’s shoulder and neck, and forcing the patient to the ground. He has not been back to work since June 2017 following this incident.
Leahy Scott stated in a news release that, “This defendant is accused of a contemptuous fraud in which he feigns being too injured to work while paddling a kayak on a Caribbean retreat. Moreover…he allegedly attacked one of the very patients for whom he was meant to care.”
Haley has since been arrested, charged with grand larceny, falsifying business records, insurance fraud, endangering the welfare of an incompetent or disabled person, and two counts of workers’ compensation fraud, and arraigned.