Helen Garber Tells All: Ulster County Family Court’s Web of Abuse and Corruption

Helen Rebecca Garber—a nurse practitioner, mother, and whistleblower—has come forward to expose what she calls “court-sanctioned abuse” in Ulster County Family Court. In her own words, Garber describes a nightmare of vanished transcripts, falsified evidence, gag orders, and financial ruin—all orchestrated by powerful insiders led by attorney Elizabeth Faulkner, the notorious “Black Widow” of Kingston.

Garber says she lost custody of her daughter after Faulkner and court guardian Heather Harp falsified records, misrepresented orders, and coerced her into signing a deceptive custody stipulation. “I was threatened with further custodial loss if I didn’t sign,” Garber recalled. “I did not realize I had lost primary custody until a week later.”

The record only deepens the outrage. Garber’s 200-page trial transcript vanished, and 48 exhibits proving her innocence were deleted. Even worse, the judge—David Gandin—used inflated income figures to bankrupt her, ordering that 65% of her paycheck be garnished to pay her abusive ex-husband. “I’ve been forced to support my abuser,” Garber said.

The conspiracy, she alleges, extends beyond her case. “My old prescriptions were stolen by my ex and Ms. Faulkner to frame me as a drug addict,” Garber revealed. “The doctors they used have appeared in multiple other cases handled by Faulkner.”

And when Garber spoke out, the court tried to silence her. Her own lawyer sent an email admitting a judge had held ex parte communications and ordered her to delete her social media posts “or we are going to have serious problems.” The message concluded, chillingly: “The court was incredibly displeased… these are the folks who decide this case, and we are already on their bad side.”

Garber’s courage to speak has inspired national outrage and support from journalists Richard Luthmann and Michael Volpe, and activist Dave Weigel, who called Ulster County “a lawless regime that punishes truth-tellers.” Garber vows she will not stop fighting: “I demand an investigation—for myself and all the other parents who’ve been destroyed by this system.”

This is not just a custody case. It’s a story of systemic judicial corruption, retaliation, and the weaponization of silence in America’s family courts.