Ex-Roselle firefighter accused of forging documents to get his job

A former Roselle firefighter/paramedic is facing felony forgery charges, accused of creating and submitting false medical records to get his job. The charges allege Ryan L. Case, 37, of the 1800 block of Butterfield Road in Woodstock, lied about whether he had previously had back-related injuries or medical conditions.

A grand jury indicted Case on 12 counts of forgery on Tuesday. He is free on bond.

Case is accused of creating a false Alexian Brothers Medical Center "functional back assessment" where he did not circle "previous back injury," according to the indictment.

He is also accused of creating a false OSHA Respirator Medical Evaluation Questionnaire. In the document, he answered "no" to a question about whether he had ever lost vision, either temporarily or permanently, in either eye; "no" as to whether he had ever had a back injury; and "no" as to whether he had any back problems, the indictment said.

He then gave the documents to Alexian Brothers and the Roselle Fire Department, according to the indictment.

"It is disappointing when an employee violates the trust of the taxpayers that rely on their services," Roselle Mayor David Pileski said in a statement. "I appreciate the diligence and thoroughness of the DuPage County state's attorney office and Roselle Police Department in this matter for the residents of Roselle."

According to a 2019 lawsuit the village filed against the fire pension board, Case underwent a preemployment physical examination on May 13, 2015. He was hired as a probationary firefighter/paramedic on June 8, 2015.

The village contends in the lawsuit Case had back problems since 2008 and had sought treatment in April, May and June 2015, before his hiring.

Case applied for a disability pension in December 2017 after suffering a back injury when he lifted a case of water. The pension board approved a 65% disability pension in March 2019, saying the injury was job-related because a supervisor had ordered Case to move the water in preparation for an open house.

In its lawsuit, however, the village says Case was moving only individual bottles of water into a cooler and that the claim didn't qualify as a job-related injury.

Roselle police and fire officials brought the case to the attention of the DuPage County state's attorney, according to a news release.