Five New York Prison Guards Charged with Employment Fraud
Five prison guards at two facilities in upstate New York were charged for faking illnesses and workplace injuries to defraud the state’s workers’ compensation system. The five guards were arrested following an 18-month investigation by the state Office of the Inspector General at prisons in Ulster and Wallkill counties. One of the guards is alleged to have worked as a home health aide for the state while receiving workers’ compensation benefits for falsely claiming he was too sick to show up for his job at the prison; several of the others are accused of forging doctor’s notes to receive sick leave checks. According to prosecutors, the guards stole more than $15,000 in unearned pay over a period of several years.
Following the guards’ arrests on October 30, 2025, the Ulster county district attorney announced that—in addition to grand larceny, a felony—Christine Donovan, 41, and Jeremy LaChance, 42, were charged with offering a false instrument for filing, while Anthony Tacti, 34, was charged with fraudulent practices and insurance and healthcare fraud; all three pleaded not guilty. Guards Ashli Paulino, 36, and Brian Porter, 49, received similar charges, but had not yet entered pleas as of this writing.
The New York state prison system is facing an understaffing crisis that was exacerbated earlier this year by a guard strike that led to mass firings by Gov. Kathy Hochul (D). The National Guard was deployed to make up the shortfall, and around 2,700 guard members are still being used in prisons nine months after the strike. New York has also lowered the minimum hiring age for guards from 21 to 18 and offered a $3,000 sign-on bonus for new employees, as part of a recruiting effort. [See: PLN, Feb. 2025, p.59; Mar. 2025, p.61; Apr. 2025, p.56; May 2025, p.43; June 2025, p. 46; and Aug. 2025, p.40.]
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