By Janice Morse
Enquirer staff writer

HAMILTON - Sandra Franjoine's insurance fraud, identity theft and other crimes are sending her to prison for nearly three years - and leaving behind a long trail of victims in Butler and Hamilton counties, authorities say.

"It's a very curious - and disturbing - case of deceit," Butler County Assistant Prosecutor Lee Oldendick said Tuesday after Common Pleas Judge Matthew J. Crehan sentenced Franjoine, 38, to 17 months in prison. The West Chester Township woman will serve that time on top of an 18-month Hamilton County sentence for stealing from her former employer, Sundance Property Management in Blue Ash.

In April, Franjoine pleaded guilty to six Butler County charges: insurance fraud, making false alarms, telecommunications fraud, identity theft, tampering with records and tampering with evidence. She had faced more than 12 years.

Last October, Franjoine vandalized her own house, then claimed to be a victim and received $14,273 from American Family Insurance for that claim, Oldendick said.

She faked documents that led West Chester police to believe the vandals would strike again, Oldendick said, so officers conducted 72 hours of surveillance, which cost $10,511 in overtime pay.

The judge ordered her to repay the insurance company and the police department, along with $10,848 on two credit cards she obtained using the name of her ex-boyfriend.

Oldendick said it was unusual that anyone would commit insurance fraud and also seek publicity. She contacted newspapers and TV stations to discuss her plight after the reported vandalism, Oldendick said. "I think she liked the attention," he said.

On Christmas Eve, an arson caused $150,000 damage to her house; Franjoine was named a suspect. Oldendick said the investigation remains open but no one has been charged.

Her attorney, Damon Halverson, asked the judge for leniency, saying his client was suffering from medical problems, depression and other "traumatic experiences" when she committed the offenses. "She could not, and cannot to this day, tell anyone why she did what she did," he wrote in a court record.

E-mail jmorse@enquirer.com