Raymond Griffin: The Court-Appointed Substance Abuse Evaluator Who Was a Fraud

The Court-Appointed Evaluator

For years, Raymond Griffin was the go-to substance abuse evaluator for Westchester Family Court and Supreme Court judges. He operated out of a small office at 5 Waller Avenue in White Plains, conducting drug and alcohol evaluations that could determine whether a parent kept or lost custody of their children. Courts had been appointing him since at least 2005.

In the Russell v. Walsh case, Griffin was appointed to evaluate Stephen Russell for substance abuse — despite the fact that Russell was the victim of drugging, not the perpetrator. Toxicology evidence clearly showed Russell had been administered lithium and Seroquel without his knowledge. Nevertheless, Mom and her family's attorneys successfully steered the court toward ordering Russell to be evaluated by Griffin.

The OASAS Investigation

In July 2019, the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) launched an investigation into Griffin after complaints were filed. The probe revealed a staggering pattern of misconduct spanning years. Within months, OASAS revoked Griffin's license as a Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor (CASAC), forcing courts across Westchester to scramble for new evaluators.

Violations Cited by OASAS

• Engaging in prohibited private practice using his CASAC title
• Grossly negligent handling of toxicology testing
• Failure to protect confidential patient information
• Inaccurate documentation
• Disregard for patient welfare; conduct outside the scope of a CASAC
• Unauthorized practice of medicine or misrepresenting himself as a medical doctor
• Fraudulent renewal of his CASAC license by using falsified documents
• Exploiting patients by charging for unauthorized services

The Journal News Investigation

On October 5, 2020, the Journal News (lohud.com) published an investigative report by Jonathan Bandler revealing that Griffin had also been working as an alcohol and drug counselor in Connecticut since 1998. Connecticut's Department of Public Health had reached out to OASAS about Griffin in November 2019 and was conducting its own investigation.

A spokesman for New York's court system confirmed that judges had stopped using Griffin for evaluations in July 2019, but cited only a "handful" of cases Griffin handled in Family Court and said it would be "too burdensome" to review all cases for any involvement by Griffin — raising concerns about the impact on families already harmed by his evaluations.

Fraudulent Credentials

Griffin listed himself on multiple professional directories as "Dr. Raymond Griffin, PHD" and "Griffin Raymond A MD" — misrepresenting his credentials to courts, patients, and the public. His office at 5 Waller Avenue in White Plains was described as a "self-service drug-testing lab" where the integrity of urine samples was compromised by lack of proper chain of custody protocols.

Supporting Documentation

The evidence archive contains several key Griffin documents:

• Signed declaration letter dated August 16, 2019
• Signed stipulation dated August 20-30, 2019
• OASAS investigation files #19-116 and 19-196
• Journal News investigative article (October 5, 2020)
• Professional directory listings showing fraudulent credentials
• Voicemail recordings from Griffin