Two former employees of The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud in a $3 million kickback scheme tied to the settlement of lawsuits.
Rachel Marie Rossow of Farmington and John Frederick Prestage of Newington entered the pleas Tuesday in front of U.S. District Judge David Hittner in Houston.
Federal prosecutors alleged that the two received new BMWs and millions of dollars. In return, the pair recommended that The Hartford settle for $34 million lawsuits related to silica brought by clients of Houston attorney Warren Todd Hoeffner. Silica particles can cause lung disease when inhaled.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 17. Rossow, 44, faces a maximum prison sentence of three years. Prestage, 39, faces a two-year prison sentence. Rossow was Prestage’s boss in the claims and legal management services department at The Hartford, authorities said.
A trial of Hoeffner last October ended in a mistrial. (AP)
