Florida prison psychiatrist fired following arrest on insurance fraud charges

December 8, 2010

A psychiatrist who sees inmates at the Orange County jail was arrested Wednesday on insurance-fraud charges, the jail confirmed.

Arturo Hernandez, 52, was arrested while working at 10:35 a.m., jail records show. He faces charges of scheming to defraud and third-degree grand theft. Details were not available Wednesday.

He was released from the jail after posting $6,000 bail about 2:30 p.m.

The charges are not related to his work, a jail spokesman said.

Hernandez is an employee of the Orange County Department of Health and Human Services, but his job is at the jail. He has been employed by the county since January 2002.

Documents acquired from the Orange County Health Services Department by the Citizens Commission on Human Rights shows that Hernandez (he is referred to as "Dr. Hernandez-Pena" in one of the documents) was terminated on December 3, 2010 from his position as a Corrections Health Psychiatrist for reasons of misconduct.  

Source: Anika Myers Palm, "Orange jail psychiatrist faces fraud charges," Orlando Sentinel, December 1, 2010.