Hartford school board working to recover about $700K in fraudulent health insurance claims from ex-employee

The Hartford Board of Education is stepping up its efforts to recover nearly $700,000 in fraudulent health insurance claims from a former educator who kept her ex-husband on her insurance plan for 15 years after they were divorced, according to the city’s internal audit commission.

Patricia Wakefield is one of two former school district employees refusing to repay the board for costs associated with maintaining an ex-spouse on their health insurance plans for years after divorcing, city auditors told the commission at a Wednesday meeting. They will soon receive final notices of their debt, the final step before the school board may pursue criminal prosecution or civil action, Deputy Chief Auditor Joe Caruso said.

Wakefield’s ex-husband racked up about $680,000 in claims between 2002 and 2017, Caruso said. Joanna Laiscell, the district’s fired executive director of financial management, cost the district nearly $6,700 in claims her ex-husband made on her plan over three years.

The letters are being reviewed by the city’s corporation counsel, according to the commission.

Wakefield is seeking to retire rather than resign, which the school board is fighting in order to withhold about $50,000 to $60,000 that would be due to her as severance, Caruso said Wednesday.

“It’s like getting blood from a stone,” Commissioner Bruce Rubenstein said.

“It’s something,” Caruso replied. “And something’s better than nothing.”

An audit commissioned by the school board last year and a subsequent city audit revealed that more than 40 school and city employees had ex-spouses who remained on their plans and made claims after they were divorced, costing the school board about $1.1 million and the city about $240,000, the commission said Wednesday.

Most of the individuals owed small amounts -- a few hundred to a few thousand dollars -- and have paid the money back or agreed to payment plans, and the city is still determining whether it or its health insurance provider, Cigna, will go after up to eight more city employees for repayment.

The city will likely send demand letters to its own employees once Cigna is done reviewing those accounts.

Initially, the city hoped to press charges against three people who were found by the audits to owe more than $10,000 in fraudulent claims -- Wakefield, a retired firefighter who has not been publicly named and a police officer who retired since the audit came to light in January, also unnamed. The auditors took the case to Hartford police, who investigated and turned their findings over to the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney.

Caruso says they learned a few months ago, from Inspector Jack Bannon of the chief state’s attorney’s office, that they must send final notices demanding payment before they can pursue criminal prosecution or a civil case.

The police officer, who retired in June, has agreed to repay about $20,000 in claims, Caruso said. The firefighter may owe more than $200,000 in claims made by his ex-wife, but Cigna may decide to pursue the debt itself.

To prevent additional issues, the auditors plan to request a list of employees who divorced in 2019 to ensure health insurance accounts are promptly updated.

Rebecca Lurye can be reached at [email protected].

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