Injured Bus Driver Found Coaching While Collecting Benefits, IG Says

Thursday, October 31, 2019 | 0

Two Hudson Valley men have been charged with defrauding insurers and working while collecting workers' compensation benefits, the New York State inspector general announced Wednesday.

Former Metro Transit Authority bus driver Tyrone Searight, 49, of Peekskill, was arrested and charged with fraud after he was allegedly found to be working while collecting $11,500 in benefits, the inspector general's office said.

Searight reported an injury to his knee in 2016 and certified in documents that he was unable to work. But investigators reportedly found him working as a girls' high school basketball coach and having little trouble with physical activity. He is due in court Nov. 26.

Mohamed Husamdeen, 56, was injured in a car accident in 2016 while working for a bakery in Nanuet. He received more than $9,500 in benefits for injuries to his back, neck, wrist and hand, and told authorities that he was unable to work for months.

But an investigation reportedly found that Husamdeen worked in 2017 and 2018 at several businesses, including two jewelry stores. He was released on a recognizance bond and is due back in court Nov. 26.