Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, along with New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang, announced today that a Brooklyn woman employed as a NYS correction officer has been charged with grand larceny, scheme to defraud, falsifying business records, and other offenses for stealing approximately $43,000 in benefits over the last four years.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “Workers’ compensation benefits exist to support those who are truly injured and unable to work—not to be exploited for personal gain. This defendant’s alleged conduct is a serious betrayal of the public trust, and we will seek to hold her fully accountable. This case sends a strong message that we will investigate and prosecute fraud wherever we find it, especially when committed by those sworn to uphold the law. I’m grateful to Inspector General Lang and her team, and to our prosecutors, for their work on this case.”
Inspector General Lang said, “Correction officers hold positions of public trust and should be expected to uphold the highest standards of integrity.
This officer both violated that trust and undermined public confidence in her profession by fraudulently collecting workers’ compensation benefits while running a business at the same time. Thank you to my team, as well as District Attorney Gonzalez and his office, for working together to protect public resources and ensure accountability in state institutions.”
The District Attorney named the defendant as Jahmelia Mattison John, 42, of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. She was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Gershuny on a 23-count indictment that includes two counts of third-degree grand larceny, a first-degree scheme to defraud, five counts of first-degree falsifying business records, five counts of first-degree offering a false instrument for filing, five counts of penalties for fraudulent practices, and five counts of third-degree insurance fraud.
The offender was released without bail and ordered to appear in court on August 13, 2025.
It is claimed that between June 10, 2021, and June 6, 2025, the defendant, an NYS correction officer assigned to the Queensboro Correctional Facility at the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS), stole approximately $43,382.79 in benefits from both DOCCS and the New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF) by falsely claiming she was unable to work due to on-duty injuries.
The claim is that the defendant, while receiving workers’ compensation benefits, profited from a hair braiding business she owned and controlled. The defendant promoted her business on social media. An undercover operation conducted by the NYS IG’s office purportedly captured the defendant actively braiding the undercover’s hair, directly contradicting the defendant’s claimed impairment.
The defendant has worked as a correction officer for roughly 17 years.
The case was investigated by New York State Inspector General personnel, including Senior Investigator Anne Peters, Investigator Mario Rubino, and Digital Forensic Investigator Colin Corrado, who were overseen by Attorney-in-Charge for Workers’ Compensation Fraud Bryan Richmond and Chief of Investigations for the New York City and Long Island Regions Ben Defibaugh.
Senior Assistant District Attorney Pamela Lowe of the District Attorney’s Public Integrity Bureau is prosecuting the case, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Adam Libove, Deputy Bureau Chief, and Assistant District Attorney Laura Neubauer, Bureau Chief, and the overall supervision of Assistant District Attorney Michel Spanakos, Deputy Chief of the District Attorney’s Investigations Division, and Assistant District Attorney Patricia McNeill, Chief.
An indictment is an accusatory instrument, not evidence of a defendant’s guilt.