Gilbert woman sentenced for embezzlement

A Gilbert woman was convicted and sentenced for embezzling more than $2.5 million from a subsidiary of U-Haul, prosecutors said Friday.

Jamie Leeanne Baltazar, 47, pleaded guilty last month to two counts of theft, class 2 felonies, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison by a Maricopa County judge, according to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.

Baltazar was ordered to pay more than $2.5 million in restitution, and she will serve five years of probation after prison, the County Attorney’s Office added.

Baltazar worked as a claims processor for Oxford Life Insurance Company handling medical payments to U-Haul retirees, and processing out-of-pocket medical costs, according to the County Attorney’s Office.

Between 2011-19, Baltazar filed medical claims under retirees’ names to print fraudulent checks she deposited in her personal account, according to the County Attorney’s Office.

Baltazar perpetrated an average of $25,000 a month in fraud, the County Attorney’s Office said.

A U-Haul spokesperson told The Arizona Republic that the company would decline comment on Baltazar’s case.