Pierce County contractor accused of stealing $54K in workers’ comp scam

A roofing contractor from Lakewood has been charged with stealing more than $54,000 in benefits from the state workers’ compensation system following a two-year investigation, according to the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries.

Patrick Dean Farthing, 63, is scheduled to be arraigned on one count of first-degree theft in Thurston County Superior Court next week.

He is charged with wrongfully taking wage replacement payments from L&I from mid-2014 to January 2021.

According to L&I, Farthing’s medical provider determined he could no longer work as a roofer after he injured his shoulder while repairing a roof in 2010.

After Farthing declared that he wasn’t working in any job, he qualified for wage replacement payments and later, a pension.

L&I began an investigation in 2018 after receiving a tip that Farthing was again working as a roofer.

Over the course of a two-year investigation, investigators photographed Farthing removing and installing roofs, directing work crews and moving construction equipment and other heavy materials, according to charging documents.

Investigators determined that he used an alias, Adam Lay, and sometimes did business as Pat Farthing Roofing.

He was also caught working as an unregistered contractor in Spanaway and Olympia in 2018. As a result, construction compliance investigators issued Farthing with civil infractions for unregistered contracting, with penalties totaling $5,000 that have not yet been paid.

“When we hear about fraud, we investigate,” said Celeste Monahan, assistant director for L&I’s Fraud Prevention and Labor Standards division. “Cheaters seem to think that stealing workers’ comp benefits doesn’t hurt anyone … But it’s taking money from legitimately injured workers, and everyone whose hard-earned dollars support the workers’ compensation system.”

The Washington State Attorney General’s Office is prosecuting this case based on L&I’s investigation.