HARRISBURG- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Brenda Hilton, age 59, of Windsor, Pennsylvania, was indicted by a federal grand jury on mail and wire fraud charges.
According to United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, Hilton worked as a claims specialist responsible for managing and authorizing payments relating to workers’ compensation claims at an insurance company that provides commercial property-casualty insurance to companies throughout North America. The indictment alleges that in 2012, Hilton submitted three fraudulent claims of approximately $27,728 for processing. The fraudulent claims that Hilton submitted directed all payments be sent to Hilton’s home address. Two of the three checks were deposited into Hilton’s personal bank account.
This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chelsea Schinnour is prosecuting the case.
Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The maximum penalty for each count under federal law is 20 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
