A former correctional officer at Salinas Valley State Prison has pleaded no contest to felony workers’ compensation insurance fraud and admitted the loss exceeded $100,000, the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office announced. The defendant, 43-year-old Lorena Hernandez Alvarado of King City, is scheduled for sentencing on October 22, 2026. District Attorney also reported that Alvarado pleaded guilty in two unrelated DUI cases.
According to the District Attorney’s press release, the case began with a workplace injury claim Alvarado filed in April 2021. She reported injuring her shoulder, neck, back, and knees while holding a heavy shield to protect herself from liquid an inmate had thrown at her. State Compensation Insurance Fund, which the release identifies as the prison’s insurer, accepted the claim. Alvarado never returned to work and collected well over $100,000 in wage-replacement and medical benefits.
Prosecutors say an Internal Affairs investigation by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation later found that Alvarado had not used a shield during the April 2021 incident. The same investigation concluded that she had fabricated an earlier workplace injury in 2019, which she attributed to a struggle with an inmate. That 2019 claim was denied. The District Attorney’s Workers’ Compensation Fraud Unit then charged her with two felony counts of insurance fraud. The release does not name the specific statutes charged or say whether the plea covered one count or both. CDCR Investigator Adam Jimenez and District Attorney Workers’ Compensation Insurance Fraud Investigator Jennifer Mendoza handled the investigation.
County fraud units like Monterey’s are largely funded by California employers themselves. The California Department of Insurance awards annual grants to district attorneys to investigate and prosecute workers’ compensation fraud, and those grants are paid for through assessments on employers. The department describes claimant fraud as one of several categories the grants target, along with medical provider fraud, employer premium fraud, and insider fraud.
The account of the underlying conduct comes from the District Attorney’s release and the CDCR investigation it describes; no court findings or defense statements were available. Sentencing has not yet occurred, and the release does not say whether prosecutors will seek restitution to State Fund or how much.