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Staten Island resident Darquis Wright, 39, was arraigned in Ossining Town Court this week on nine counts of offering a false instrument for filing after submitting fake medical documentation for more than a year.
New York State Inspector General Letizia Tagliafierro said that over the course of 16 months, Wright used the false medical documentation to obtain more than 100 days in Workers’ Compensation leave and more than $16,000 in wages.
Between March 2018 and September 2019, Wright claimed multiple separate injuries while on duty and submitted applications for Workers’ Compensation leave benefit, including shoulder, lower back, hand, wrist, knee, and back injuries.
Tagliafierro said that to support the claims, Wright repeatedly submitted medical documentation to Sing Sing purportedly from a Staten Island-based orthopedic surgeon and another Staten Island-based physician.
The documentation falsely stated, based upon medical examinations allegedly performed by the physicians, that Wright was unable to work.
However, the examinations were never performed. Both the orthopedic surgeon and the physician later confirmed to Tagliafierro that the documentation was all fraudulent.
“This individual’s repeated fraudulent acts were an attempt to take advantage of the Workers’ Compensation system and rip off taxpayers,” Tagliafierro said. “He brazenly kept up his scheme for more than a year and illegally obtained more than 3-months’ worth of leave from his job. He will now pay for his crimes.”
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