Prosecutors: Woman Defrauded 5 People Out Of Over $50K
CHICAGO (CBS) -- An arrest warrant has been issued for a 50-year old northwest suburban woman who allegedly has been telling some tall tales to collect insurance money, and defrauding at least five people out of more than $50,000.
As WBBM Newsradio's Bernie Tafoya reports, Bridgette Buckner of Bartlett was a no-show in court Wednesday for a bond hearing and an arraignment on new charges of identity theft. Thus, Criminal Court Judge Vincent Gaughan has issued an arrest warrant for her, according to the Chicago Tribune.
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Buckner, who works for Hallmark Services, is accused of stealing the identities of at least five people and racking up more than $50,000 in charges in their names, the Tribune reported.
A new indictment against Buckner was handed down earlier this month. It claims that she stole the identities of at least five people in 2008 and 2009, and racked up more than $50,000 in charges in their names, the Tribune reported. She also stole a woman's identity to set up utility accounts with ComEd and Nicor, the newspaper reported.
She allegedly had sensitive information in her possession – including names, addresses, dates of birth and Social Security numbers – for about 30 people all around the country, the Tribune reported.
On June 30, Buckner pleaded guilty in DuPage County court to filing a claim with an insurance company in 2008 and receiving $10,000 by claiming her 4-year-old daughter had died a short time earlier. Buckner's daughter, Briajay, had actually died four years earlier when her mother was not yet working for Hallmark.
Later in 2008, Buckner filed a $15,000 claim against her husband's life insurance policy, claiming that he had been shot and while on duty as an FBI agent.
But Buckner's husband is not an FBI agent, and didn't even know about the policy. They had been estranged and had not gotten together for months before Buckner started working for Hallmark, prosecutors said.
She is set for sentencing next week in the DuPage County case.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
