Bartlett woman who scammed employer gets 5 more years

A Bartlett woman, already serving a 10-year sentence for making up a story about the deaths of her daughter and supposed FBI agent husband in an insurance scam, was sentenced to five more years Wednesday on an identity theft charge, according to prosecutors.

Bridgette Buckner, 50, pleaded guilty to one count of identity theft as part of a plea deal, said Maura Possley, a spokeswoman for the Illinois attorney general's office.

Bucker was originally charged with 14 counts of theft-related offenses for using the names, addresses, date of birth and social security numbers of 29 people to accumulate about $30,000 in debt. Prosecutors said she used that information to access credit cards and ComEd and Nicor accounts.

Authorities charged Buckner in August while she was awaiting a sentencing hearing for defrauding her former employer through bogus insurance claims in which she falsely reported the deaths of a young daughter and supposed husband.

Buckner went missing after a Cook County grand jury and did not show up to court for her sentencing hearing in September, but sent a written letter telling the judge she had been “called to the ministry.” U.S. Marshals arrested her at her son's apartment in Elgin in mid-October.

Prosecutors said Buckner netted more than $70,000 in insurance payouts from Hallmark Services Corp.