Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ALIYAH THERESA JULIATE DAVIS, also known as Theresa Juliate Sutherland, 36, of East Windsor, has been charged by criminal complaint with making a false statement on a U.S. passport application.
DAVIS was arrested on Sept. 17, 2016. She appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joan G. Margolis in Hartford and was ordered detained.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on Dec. 17, 2014, DAVIS, who was 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.
DAVIS has not yet reported to prison to serve her sentence based on her repeated claims of a diagnosis of terminal cancer and heart conditions.
The complaint alleges that, in March 2015, DAVIS changed her name from Theresa Juliate Sutherland to ALIYAH THERESA JULIATE DAVIS without disclosing her federal fraud and identity theft convictions in probate court documents as required. DAVIS subsequently received a new Social Security number and Connecticut driver’s license under her new identity.
The complaint further alleges that, 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.
The complaint also alleges that the investigation has revealed that many of DAVIS’s recent claims about her health are false. In addition, since her sentence was imposed, DAVIS has been employed at a local insurance company and local hospitals under her new identity, and she continues to receive unemployment compensation under her previous identity. She also took two cruise vacations earlier this year.
If convicted of passport fraud, DAVIS faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.
U.S. Attorney Daly stressed that a complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This matter is being investigated by the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service, U.S. Department of Labor - Office of Inspector General, Office of the Chief State’s Attorney, Connecticut Department of Labor and East Windsor Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas P. Morabito.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
