Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced Wednesday that a former insurance company employee will have to spend a year in prison and pay over half a million dollars in restitution after being convicted of one count of first-degree theft.

Kelli Sayers Burt, a former employee of Alliance Insurance Group, was indicted by a Montgomery County Grand Jury in April and pleaded guilty in Circuit Court in May.

“Stealing from a city, a community, deprives citizens of having their own taxpayer dollars put to good use,” said Marshall. “Make no mistake, this was not a victimless crime, and I am pleased with the strong message sent by the court.”

From 2017 to 2024, Burt, who handled the health insurance claims for Montgomery, used the identities of city employees more than 330 times to divert insurance reimbursements into her own bank account. Her actions resulted in a loss of more than $465,000 for the City of Montgomery.

Burt was sentenced to two years in the county jail, split to serve one year day-for-day.

Marshall thanked the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office for their help on the case, as well as his Special Prosecutions Division, including Assistant Attorney General Alana K. Cammack, and the division’s special agents and support staff for their work in prosecuting the case.

Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten