East Windsor Woman Who Faked Cancer, Changed Name Sentenced to Prison

EAST WINDSOR, CT — An East Windsor woman who faked cancer in order to delay a prison term, then changed her name and attempted to obtain a new passport was sentenced Wednesday to 30 additional months of imprisonment.

Aliyah Theresa Juliate Davis, also known as Theresa Juliate Sutherland, 36, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to 30 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for committing multiple federal offenses while awaiting incarceration after a prior federal conviction, according to Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on December 17, 2014, Davis, then known as Theresa Sutherland, was sentenced in Hartford federal court to 51 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for engaging in a fraud and identity theft scheme at an insurance company where she was employed. As part of her sentence, Davis was ordered to pay total restitution of $400,000 to the victim insurance company and three previous employers that she defrauded, Daly said.

Beginning in January 2015, Davis, through her attorney, made five separate motions to postpone her prison report date based on her claims of a diagnosis of terminal cancer and heart conditions. In association with her court motions, Davis submitted letters from various medical professionals detailing her claimed medical conditions. Davis created the letters and forged the medical professionals’ signatures. Her prison report dates were continued based on these fraudulent submissions, Daly said.

In March 2015, Davis changed her name from Theresa Juliate Sutherland to Aliyah Theresa Juliate Davis. She subsequently received a new Social Security number and Connecticut driver’s license under her new identity, Daly said.

On April 19, 2016, Davis submitted an application for a U.S. passport at the U.S. Postal Service facility on Weston Street in Hartford. On the application where it states “Have you ever applied for or been issued a U.S. Passport Book or Passport Card?” Davis marked an “X” in the “No” box. In 2007, Davis applied for and received a U.S. passport when she was known as Theresa Juliate Sutherland, according to Daly.

At various times between Dec. 2014 and Sept. 2016, Davis was employed at a local insurance company and local hospitals. From May 28, 2016 to Sept. 10, 2016, while she was employed at an insurance company and then a hospital under her new identity, Davis received $9,808 in unemployment compensation from the State of Connecticut under her previous identity, Daly said.

On Dec. 12, 2016, Davis pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, one count of knowingly making a false statement on a passport application, one count of making a false statement and one count of aggravated identity theft, Daly said.

Judge Arterton ordered Davis to begin serving her sentence after she completes her previous 51-month sentence. She has been detained since Sept. 17, 2016.

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