Washington Man Caught Faking Work Injuries For Drugs

A Washington man thought he found the perfect way to get prescription narcotics – go to a hospital claiming to be in pain due to a work related injury.

But an investigation by Washington’s Department of Labor & Industries uncovered the scam, and the result was that Jose Ramon Amaya-Hernandez recently pleaded guilty to three counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and was sentenced to 45 days in jail on each count to run concurrently. He must also pay fines as well as a yet to be determined amount of restitution to the hospitals he defrauded.

The investigation found that Amaya-Hernandez filed 53 claims for injuries over a three-year period. The claims were filed at a dozen different Seattle area hospitals and were subsequently denied by L&I because there were no records showing that the man ever worked for any of the employers he listed on the claims. However, the hospitals provided him with narcotic pain medications for the treatment of his claimed injuries.

Although Amaya-Hernandez was using several aliases, L&I investigators became suspicious and used a cross match through the state’s Department of Licensing to determine his actual identity and build their case.