Comp Official Allegedly Stretched Day Of Leave Into Yearlong Loot

As a district manager for New York State Workers’ Compensation Board and a tax specialist, Luis Torres should have known that continually accepting accidentally sent payroll tax reimbursements for over one year, stemming from a one-day workers compensation claim, was stealing. That’s according to New York State Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott, who announced Friday that Mr. Torres has been arrested on a grand-theft larceny charge, claiming he stole more than $9,000 by repeatedly cashing payroll checks that he should not have otherwise received. Mr. Torres went out on workers compensation leave for a single day in September 2017, according a statement from the inspector general’s office. Pursuant to tax regulations for comp payments, Mr. Torres received a reimbursement check for payroll taxes withheld for that day.