West Haven To Receive $1M Insurance Claim From Stolen COVID-19 Funds

Press release from the City of West Haven:

WEST HAVEN, CT — Mayor Dorinda Borer is giving city residents an early Christmas present: an insurance reimbursement of more than $1 million to cover the cost of the federal pandemic relief funds stolen three years ago by then-state Rep. Michael DiMassa and John Bernardo.

DiMassa and Bernardo were city employees who were involved in a scheme that defrauded the city and taxpayers of $1.2 million.

Since taking office in December 2023, Borer has made it her mission to recover the stolen COVID-19 money for the taxpayers of West Haven.

At the time, the theft left the city’s image decimated and residents second-guessing their trust in elected officials. But the daunting task of recovering the money did not deter Borer, and this week her determination paid off.

After months of painstaking work re-creating the timeline and key aspects of events and meeting with the insurance company, the mayor was recently notified of a settlement with the city’s carrier, The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. of Hartford.

“Hartford has completed its review of the above matter and has concluded that the City of West Haven has supported a $1,216,541.80 loss due to employee theft,” stated a member of the Senior Claims Division of the Hartford’s Fidelity Crime Claims of Global Specialty Financial Lines.

According to the Hartford, the net loss after applying $79,177.98 the city has received in court-ordered restitution — the majority of which was received by Bernardo — and the $100,000 deductible is $1,037,363.82.

The Hartford said it will forward settlement documents to the city shortly.

“This is a huge victory,” Borer said.

In 2021, DiMassa, then a Democratic state representative serving the 116th District, defrauded West Haven while working as an administrative assistant for the City Council and overseeing the city’s COVID-19 relief funding. He stole the money through fraudulent invoices.

This press release was produced by the City of West Haven. The views expressed here are the author’s own.