East Windsor Woman Sentenced to Jail in ID Theft, Insurance Scheme

A woman who was an employee as a claims examiner at an insurance company’s Enfield office was sentenced Wednesday to 51 months in jail for her involvement in a fraud and identity theft scheme.

In an announcement from Connecticut U.S. Attorney Deirdre M. Daly, Theresa Sutherland, 34, of East Windsor, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Alfred V. Covello in Hartford to 51 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Sutherland was employed by Mass Mutual Financial Group as a claims examiner in the company’s Enfield office. Mass Mutual offers full-time employees up to $8,500 in college tuition reimbursement and up to $5,000 reimbursement for the expenses associated with the adoption of a child.

Sutherland and other Mass Mutual employees defrauded the company by submitting numerous fraudulent claims for tuition reimbursement and adoption expenses. In association with the fraudulent claims for adoption expenses, Sutherland and her co-conspirators submitted birth certificates and Social Security numbers of actual children who were not their own.

Sutherland and her co-conspirators received approximately $240,000 in fraudulent reimbursements during the conspiracy, and Sutherland specifically received more than $75,000.

The investigation revealed that Sutherland defrauded three other employers in addition to Mass Mutual. Covello ordered her to pay total restitution of $400,000 to Mass Mutual and her former employers.

On Nov. 19, 2013, Sutherland pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

Four other former employees of Mass Mutual were charged as a result of this investigation.
This investigation is being conducted by the Connecticut Financial Crimes Task Force, including the Connecticut State Police. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas P. Morabito.