Prior to being indicted by a Mason County grand jury for theft, Teresa Hamilton had agreed on a settlement to pay back the majority of what she had allegedly stolen while employed at the office of Dr. Jeffrey Dickerson.

The insurance company that filed the civil suit seeking restitution is still waiting for payment, according to Mason County Circuit Court records.

The Cincinnati Insurance Company has filed a motion to enforce settlement and a hearing was scheduled for Friday during Mason County Circuit Court. However, a court employee said no action was taken, though additional paperwork may be filed within a few days.

Hamilton, 45, of Bracken County, was indicted Oct. 23 on one count of theft by failure to make required disposition, first-degree unlawful access to a computer, tampering with physical evidence, two counts criminal possession of a forged prescription, and seven counts obtaining a controlled substance by fraud.

Between the dates of Nov. 29, 2005 and Sept. 30, 2008, Hamilton allegedly took more than $24,000 from Dickerson while employed as office manager at his medical practice. According to the civil suit, Hamilton cashed checks at the First National Bank in Brooksville that were made out to Dickerson from various health insurance agencies.

Hamilton was charged with first-degree unlawful access to a computer for allegedly using the computer to obtain money under false pretenses and tampering with physical evidence for allegedly tampering with the accounts receivable screens on Dickerson's computer to conceal her theft of money.

According to the indictment, Hamilton possessed forged prescriptions for the controlled substance Phentermine and refilled those prescriptions at the Rite Aid Pharmacy in Maysville.

The civil suit was filed in July by the Cincinnati Insurance Company which issued a policy to Dickerson to "indemnify Jeffrey Dickerson for loss incurred, among other things, as the result of employee theft/dishonesty," according to the initial complaint.

According to the complaint, the first date of discovery for the alleged theft was listed as Dec. 4, 2008.

"Defendant Teresa Hamilton authorized a payroll deduction to repay this debt and made payments totaling $807.07 prior to her resignation," the complaint stated.

Hamilton resigned her position with Dickerson's office on Dec. 13, 2008, the complaint stated.

"As a direct and proximate result of the defendant's actions, Plaintiff Jeffrey Dickerson incurred monetary damages in the amount of $23,980.88," the complaint said.

The Cincinnati Insurance Company made payments on behalf of its insured for damages, after a $250 deductible.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff sought restitution for the amount allegedly stolen, as well as attorney's fees and court costs.

A month after Hamilton's resignation, the Maysville Police Department was contacted. The case was taken directly to a grand jury, rather than going through the district court system.

A settlement was reached in the civil suit on Aug. 21, according to an affidavit filed by Matthew D. Hamm, an associate of Stephen Yeager, attorney for the Cincinnati Insurance Company.

The agreed upon settlement was for $23,000 and, according to the affidavit, Hamilton's attorney, Gwen Pollard, indicated the payment would be "forthcoming within the next couple of weeks."

Hamm's affidavit was taken Nov. 5 and detailed numerous attempts to contact Pollard regarding payment of the settlement, with the most recent phone calls not returned.

The motion to enforce settlement was considered Friday, with no action taken.

An employee in the Mason County Circuit Clerk's office said no date has been set for Hamilton's criminal case following the indictment.

Messages left for Yeager and Pollard were not returned by press time.

Contact Misty Maynard at misty.maynard@lee.net or call 606-564-9091, ext. 272.

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