New York State Inspector General Letizia Tagliafierro today announced the guilty plea of a former New York State correction officer who falsified medical notes to support requests for paid time off.
New York State Inspector General Letizia Tagliafierro said, “As public servants, correction officers serve a vital role in our society where we entrust them to keep our communities and correctional facilities safe. When individuals breach that trust and forge documents to earn illicit time off, it is an affront to all New Yorkers.”
Bryon Travis, 33, of Nelson Road in Cassadaga, a former correction officer at the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision’s (DOCCS) Lakeview Shock Incarceration Correctional Facility, pled guilty yesterday in Portland Town Court to Attempted Grand Larceny, a misdemeanor. Travis, who was previously terminated by DOCCS, was sentenced to a one-year conditional discharge.
An investigation by Inspector General Tagliafierro found that on multiple occasions between April and August 2018, Travis submitted forged medical statements to his employer from the Chautauqua County Department of Mental Hygiene to support his claim for paid medical leave benefits. This medical documentation included a forged signature of Travis’s medical provider and dates of service on which Travis never received treatment. As a result of these forged medical notes, Travis received compensation he was not otherwise entitled to.
Inspector General Tagliafierro thanked DOCCS for its assistance with the investigation, the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance with the arrest, and Chautauqua County District Attorney Patrick Swanson and his office for assistance with the investigation and for prosecuting this case