Arlington Heights woman sentenced for Allstate theft
An Arlington Heights woman who admitted stealing nearly $600,000 from her employer, Allstate Insurance Co., was sentenced to four years in prison.
Lisa Sterner, 53, pleaded guilty to theft by deception, court records show. In addition to her sentence, handed down Tuesday, she was fined $692.
Prosecutors say Sterner used most of the money to pay off credit cards. She used the rest to provide bail for a family friend and on tattoos and child care, authorities said.
Sterner, a former payment annuity specialist, worked for the Northbrook company for more than 30 years, authorities said. Allstate discovered the theft in 2013 after a beneficiary contacted the company about a missing payment. Officials there discovered the payment had been deposited into another account, authorities said.
Between October 2007 and March 2013, Sterner diverted returned annuity checks in the amount of $597,038.22 into an account under the name Nicole Sterner, authorities said. Investigators traced the transfer through the Allstate computer system ID and password belonging to Sterner.