Staff
December 12, 2025
A former New York state correction officer who falsified claims of a workplace injury to collect tens of thousands of dollars in benefits pleaded guilty to felony workers' compensation fraud in Washington County Court, the state inspector general said Friday.
As part of her plea, Jennifer Bardin-Lapan, who worked at the now-closed Great Meadow Correctional Facility in Comstock, agreed to pay $40,000 in restitution and waive any rights to future benefits related to her compensation claim, state Inspector General Lucy Lang said.
Bardin-Lapan claimed she suffered injuries to her back, knee and groin in an incident with an incarcerated person, but her descriptions of the injury were directly refuted by two videos obtained by the Lang, which Lang said showed no fall, no trauma and no contact consistent with the injuries Bardin-Lapan claimed.
Bardin-Lapan collected nearly $70,000 in workers’ compensation and contractual benefits before they were suspended, Lang said.
“This case represented a serious breach of public trust and an intentional abuse of the workers’ compensation system,” said Lang. “The evidence demonstrated beyond question that the defendant fabricated her injury claims, diverting resources intended for legitimately injured workers."
In October, five correction officers were arrested on grand larceny charges for allegedly defrauding New York state’s workers’ compensation system. Those arrests stemmed from an 18-month investigation conducted by the state Office of the Inspector General into current and former state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) employees at the Ulster and Wallkill Correctional Facilities.
