Claims News Service, Dec. 16, 11:19 p.m. EST -- An insurance adjuster who stole more than $1.2 million from her employer is going to spend the next 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to a first-degree felony charge.

Brenda Buckaloo-Merchant adjusted claims for Unitrin Business Insurance in Dallas, Texas, but her paycheck from the company wasn't her only source of income. According to Kyson Johnson, lead prosecutor from the Texas Department of Insurance's (TDI) fraud unit that handled the case, Buckaloo-Merchant had been cheating the company since late 1999 through a scheme that involved writing claim checks to a fictitious health-care provider. She cashed the checks and kept the money -- until she was arrested before being sentenced in Sept. 2008.

According to Johnson, the scheme unraveled when Buckaloo-Merchant's supervisor conducted spot checks on claim files and discovered an out-of-place medical provider. The astute supervisor noticed that the provider was in Texas, but the claimant lived in the Northeast. When the supervisor investigated and ultimately found no basis to support the payment to the medical provider, she reported it to her company's SIU and began working with TDI.

A first-degree felony in Texas can carry between a five and 99 years prison sentence, along with a maximum fine of $10,000. Johnson explained how the defendant ended up with a sentence of 12 years.

"It was actually an agreed plea," said Johnson. "[Buckaloo-Merchant] pleaded guilty with no agreement from the state, meaning she was going 'open' to State District Court Judge Tracy Holmes for punishment. We initially offered 15 years, and the defendant sought probation from Judge Holmes at the open plea. After discussions with her attorney -- where we explained the nature of the evidence against her and the factors that we felt were aggravating -- the defense attorney inquired as to whether the State would be willing to agree to the 12 year sentence or not. The State agreed and Judge Holmes followed the plea bargain."

In addition to the prison sentence, Buckaloo-Merchant was ordered to pay $1.2 million in restitution, along with a fine of $3,000.

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