NY officials: State worker claimed injuries, went kayaking

ALBANY, N.Y. – New York authorities say a state psychiatric centre employee who received nearly $3,000 in workers compensation benefits for work-related injury claims was caught kayaking in Puerto Rico.

The Inspector General’s Office says the 30-year-old man applied for benefits in 2016, claiming back injuries kept him from working at his job as a security treatment assistant at the Central New York Psychiatric Center in Marcy.

Investigators say that during the time he supposedly couldn’t work, he was kayaking in Puerto Rico or vacationing with his girlfriend in California.

Ryan Haley, of Rome, faces charges, including grand larceny and insurance fraud. Investigators say he also has been charged in an attack on a patient.

Haley was arraigned and released. It couldn’t be determined from authorities if he has a lawyer.