Stratford Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison

David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Ellen Pack, 64, of Broadbridge Road, Stratford, was sentenced this week by United States District Judge Janet C. Hall in Bridgeport to two months of imprisonment, followed by two years of supervised release, for stealing U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs disability benefits while acting as a fiduciary for an incompetent military veteran.

Judge Hall also ordered Pack to spend the first three months of her term of supervised release in home confinement, and to pay a fine in the amount of $2000.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2006 and 2007, Pack served as a fiduciary for a military veteran who was a patient at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in West Haven.  In accordance with her fiduciary duties, Pack received funds from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that were to be used solely for the veteran’s care and benefit. 

Instead, Pack used significant portions of the monthly benefit payments, in an amount totaling more than $30,000, to pay for various items and expenses for her own use and benefit.

On July 27, 2010, Pack pleaded guilty to one count of misappropriating U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs disability benefits.

This matter was investigated by Special Agents of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Douglas P. Morabito