An employee of the City of Hartford’s Pension Administration Unit filed a grievance against former Hartford City Treasurer Carmen Sierra, claiming he was unfairly denied promotion to Assistant Plan Administrator (APA), a position with a $50,000 raise that Sierra awarded to her longtime chief administrative officer over the protest of the city’s Plan Administrator, and that he was discriminated against on the basis of age, race and gender.
Sabri Akter, who had served as Senior Member Services for seven years, claims in a grievance filed on June 18 that Sierra denied him a promotion to APA despite his experience performing the job, exemplary performance evaluations, and the support of Plan Administrator Nicole Plessy-Cloud. Instead, that position was awarded to Sierra’s long-time assistant, Chay Iv, over the protestations of Plessy-Cloud, who claimed Iv was not experienced enough for the job.
Akter claims Sierra discriminated against him by not only denying him the job but also cutting the salary increase Plessy-Cloud had recommended for him after he hadn’t received a pay increase in “nearly four years.”
“I believe due to my race and gender, I have been discriminated against. The Treasurer, who favors Latinos and Puerto Ricans, and has verbally made it clear that she has issues with males, has discriminated against in both manners,” Atker wrote in the June 18 grievance sent to Plessy-Cloud. “I was told that at my age I am making enough money and do well for myself so I should not be mad.”
Atker goes on to allege Sierra made comments that she only wanted to appoint women to positions in the Pension Administration unit, cited Sierra’s comment in a Hartford Courant article in which she refers to the Pension Commission as an “old boys’ club,” and that she told a colleague who was Puerto Rican that “we need to do right by our people.”
Atker’s allegations closely resemble those made by another city employee, Chelsea Mott, who filed a harassment complaint against Sierra alleging, among many things, that Sierra told her she shouldn’t make as much money as she does at her age, and that she prefers to hire employees who are Latino or Hispanic.
Mott’s claims were supported by several witnesses. An independent investigator concluded “it was more likely than not” that Sierra made those statements and concluded Sierra had in fact harassed Mott with comments regarding her age, marital status, and ethnicity.
Atker points out in the grievance that he performed the job of APA along with his other duties when Plessy-Cloud was named Plan Administrator by the Pension Commission in December 2022 and had “consistently done the work since then.” Atker claims that Plessy-Cloud advocated for him to be APA, and when Atker attempted to advocate for himself to get the job, Sierra allegedly became upset and raised her voice at him.
According to the grievance, Sierra called a department meeting on April 16, 2026, and announced that Iv, “would assume the role of acting APA without the consultation of Nicole [Plessy-Cloud] or the Pension Commission,” and that Plessy-Cloud was on vacation at the time.
Atker alleges that the denial of his promotion violates the Hartford Pension Commission’s principles and rules regarding pay, promotion, and appointments, which “shall be made according to merit, fitness and other appropriate factors.”
Plessy-Cloud protested the Pension Commission’s appointment of Iv as APA during the June 25, 2026, meeting after she was excluded from an executive session of the Pension Commission and Sierra. Plessy-Cloud claimed Iv was not qualified for the position. Iv then filed a grievance against Plessy-Cloud – under whom she now works – but that grievance was ultimately dismissed.
Sierra secured Iv’s position in the Pension Administration just two weeks before she abruptly resigned from her position in July following multiple resignations by Pension Commission members and on the eve of a federal investigation into her spending and relationships with contracted money managers.
According to documents obtained by Inside Investigator, investment companies routed money through a nonprofit where Sierra served as treasurer to support public programming conducted by Sierra and her office. A $10,000 check from city investment manager MG Global Partners to support Sierra’s 2025 Bilingual Financial Literacy Symposium came with a note addressed to Iv.
Sierra was also listed as a board member of the nonprofit Latinas in Leadership, which supports Latina women in business. According to pension expenses obtained by Inside Investigator, $1,6750 in pension expenses went to Latinas in Leadership, and the nonprofit’s 2026 symposium was supported, in part, by Fairview Capital, an investment management company that manages Hartford pension funds.
Former long-time Hartford Treasurer Adam Cloud has been appointed acting treasurer by the City Council; Cloud is married to Pension Administrator Nicole Plessy-Cloud, although Plessy-Cloud is technically under the supervision of the Pension Commission. The city’s Internal Audit Department is reportedly auditing the city’s pension fund and Treasurer’s Office.
In his grievance, Atker requested an independent investigation into Sierra’s denial of his promotion, her noncompliance with merit-based promotion standards, and “the issues of disparate treatment based on race and gender.”
Atker is also requesting back pay, an audit of his compensation with retroactive salary increases, and “the immediate scheduling and completion of my missing annual performance evaluations for the past three years.”
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