U.S. District Court in Hartford.
The woman, Christina Tartaglio, had pleaded guilty in June to one count of wire fraud in connection with the thefts, which took place between 2008 and 2011, according to federal prosecutors.
According to court documents, Tartaglio worked at Traveland, a Bridgeport Avenue travel agency, from November 1996 to December 2011 as a travel consultant, office manager, and accounting assistant.
Federal prosecutors said she stole money by drafting refund checks from the agency to clients who were not due any refunds, forging the clients’ signatures, endorsing the checks, and then depositing them into her own personal bank account.
Tartaglio used a similar method to take commissions due to the agency, federal prosecutors said.
Court documents say she made a total of 560 checks payable to fake people, totaling $94,237. The company’s owner discovered the fraud while reviewing copies of checks and saw Tartaglio’s signature endorsing them.
A sentencing memo prepared by Tartaglio’s lawyer said Tartaglio suffers from several medical ailments — high blood pressure, retinal vasculitis, severe headaches, and other problems.
The sentencing memo said Tartaglio did not “live large” off the cash, but used it to pay living expenses and medical bills for her and her family.
She had faced between 15 and 21 months behind bars under federal sentencing guidelines, but in the sentencing memo Tartaglio’s lawyer asked for a shorter prison sentence followed by home confinement.
U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny on Monday sentenced Tartaglio to nine months in prison and three years of federal probation, the first six months of which she most serve under home confinement.
She was also ordered to pay $94,237 in restitution.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, the Shelton Police Department, and Connecticut Financial Crimes Task Force, which includes federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Felice M. Duffy.
