Hoodline
June 25, 2025

Hoodline: Brooklyn Correction Officer Indicted for Allegedly Pocketing $43K in Workers' Comp Benefits

Hoodline: Brooklyn Correction Officer Indicted for Allegedly Pocketing $43K in Workers' Comp Benefits

Damon Caldwell

June 25, 2025

A New York State Correction Officer has been charged with pocketing approximately $43,000 in workers’ compensation benefits she wasn't entitled to, officials said, illustrating a serious breach of law enforcement ethics. Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, in partnership with New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang, announced the indictment of Jahmelia Mattison John, a 42-year-old from Bedford-Stuyvesant, who faces a litany of charges including grand larceny and falsifying business records, the Brooklyn DA's Office reported.

Gonzalez made it clear that workers’ comp serves as a lifeline for those genuinely in need, stating, "Workers’ compensation benefits exist to support those who are truly injured and unable to work—not to be exploited for personal gain." He pledged to hold the accused fully accountable for this "serious betrayal of the public trust," a pledge that underscores his office's commitment to rooting out fraud and corruption, meanwhile Inspector General Lang emphasized the duty of correction officers to embody integrity, yet in this situation the trust was violated and the public's confidence was undermined as the officer reportedly managed a hair braiding business while claiming disability benefits, an allegation supported by an undercover operation that caught Mattison John in the act of braiding hair. Lang extended gratitude to her team and to the Brooklyn DA's Office for their collaborative efforts in reigning in misconduct within public institutions.

Between June 10, 2021, and June 6, 2025, Mattison John, who was assigned to the Queensboro Correctional Facility, allegedly submitted false claims of being unable to work due to on-duty injuries while concurrently earning income from her personal business, an enterprise she promoted on social media said the investigation. According to the allegations, the officer's deceitful actions were a misappropriation of funds from both the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) and the New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF); this grand scheme paints a picture of the dual life led by the indicted officer who on one side of the coin presented herself as an incapacitated civil servant, and on the other, a nimble-handed entrepreneur.

Mattison John, with approximately 17 years under her belt as a Correction Officer, was arraigned before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Gershuny on a 23-count indictment, she was ordered to return to court on August 13, as detailed in the official announcement by the Brooklyn DA's Office. The case is in the hands of Senior Assistant District Attorney Pamela Lowe of the DA's Public Integrity Bureau, she's under the supervision of the Assistant District Attorney Laura Neubauer, Bureau Chief, and other senior officials, including Assistant District Attorney Patricia McNeill, Chief of the Investigations Division.