Enfield Woman Pleads Guilty to Defrauding MassMutual

An Enfield woman has pleaded guilty to defrauding insurance giant MassMutual,  including charges of conspiracy and identity theft, Acting U.S. Attorney for Connecticut  Dierdra M. Daly said Wednesday.

According to the Department of Justice, 33-year-old Theresa Sutherland  “admitted that she and other MassMutual employees defrauded the company by submitting numerous fraudulent claims for tuition reimbursement and adoption expenses.”

In making the fraudulent claims, the DOJ said, Sutherland, along with those charged alongside her, “submitted birth certificates and Social Security numbers of actual children who were not their own.”

Sutherland worked in MassMutual’s Enfield office as a claims examiner, according to the DOJ.

Sutherland and her co-conspirators, the DOJ said, received nearly $250,000, with Sutherland receiving over $75,000, in fraudulent reimbursements associated with the scheme.

Having pleaded guilty, Sutherland faces up to 22 years imprisonment.

Her guilty plea to one count of aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory consecutive two-year term of jail time, the DOJ said.

Sutherland was charged along with four other former MassMutual employees. Two of those former employees have pleaded guilty and are currently awaiting sentencing, according to the DOJ.

The Connecticut State Police, with assistance from numerous local police departments, have worked with the Connecticut Financial Crimes Task Force throughout the investigation.

The Connecticut Crimes Task Force includes U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Internal Revenue Service members.