A former employee of an Essex County, N.J., insurance company was sentenced to 364 days in jail in connection with her role in a three-person scheme to steal more than $94,100 by filing fraudulent disability insurance claims.

LaShondrea Tucker, 32, of Plainfield, N.J., was sentenced Dec. 16 to five years of probation conditioned on her serving the jail time in the county jail, according to the New Jersey Office of the Fraud Prosecutor. Essex County Superior Court Judge Michael A. Petrolle also ordered Tucker to serve 250 hours of community service and to pay $59,231 in restitution.

Tucker, who was employed as a disability claims manager for Prudential Insurance Co., admitted that between Sept. 22, 2003, and March 23, 2004, she created fraudulent disability claims using the names and other identifiers of actual people enrolled in a teachers’ disability plan. Tucker admitted that she diverted 21 checks and two electronic fund transfers, totaling over $94,100.

Tucker pleaded guilty Aug. 11 to insurance fraud, following her indictment on the charge Dec. 18, 2008.

Tucker’s co-defendant, Louise Fedrick, 40, of Newark, N.J., was sentenced to two years of probation after pleading guilty in April to forgery in the same case. Fedrick was ordered to serve 400 hours of community service.

A third co-defendant, Erick Streeter, 44, of Newark, N.J., is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 18, 2010. Streeter pleaded guilty in April to theft by deception as part of the scheme.

Tucker admitted that she issued the diverted checks, which totaled $66,700, in the names of the insured individuals and sent them to Streeter. Streeter engaged Fedrick to assist him with the cashing of the claims checks. Fedrick admitted to forging the signatures on the checks for deposit, authorities said.