Former Hartford Claims Adjuster Gets 2 Years for Fraud

A former insurance adjuster for The Hartford Financial Services Group will spend more than two years in prison for collecting more than $100,000 by processing fake claims, authorities said.

Douglas Wayne Stewart, 45, formerly of Windsor Locks, was sentenced Friday in Hartford Superior Court to six years in prison, suspended after two years and six months. He must serve the rest of the sentence if he violates terms of his five-year probation after being released.

Stewart, who most recently lived in Pflugerville, Texas, pleaded guilty in January to one count of first-degree larceny in connection with the theft, the court officials said.

According to the arrest warrant, Stewart created phony invoices and had acquaintances send the documents to him at The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., where he was a claims adjuster from 2001 to 2004. He processed the invoices, issuing 28 company checks and sharing the proceeds with the acquaintances, the warrant stated.

Superior Court Judge Thomas P. Miano also ordered Stewart to repay $100,748 to The Hartford during his probation.