Montgomery woman pleads guilty in ID theft scheme | Crime

On October 25, 2012, Angeline Austin, 41, of Montgomery, Alabama, pled guilty to one count of conspiring to defraud the Government regarding claims, one count of fraud in connection with identification documents, a count of fraud in connection with computers, and of aggravated identity theft, announced George L. Beck, Jr., United States Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama.  

During her plea hearing, Austin admitted that, between June 13, 2010 and March 25, 2011, she worked for Southern Records Management, Inc., a company that assigns employees to different companies to work.  Austin was assigned to Troy Hospital.  While working at Troy Hospital, she stole over 800 names, Social Security numbers, and dates of birth from patients of the Troy Hospital.  She then sold that information to another person involved in this scheme, who used those stolen identities to file fraudulent tax returns.  The IRS, believing the tax refunds were legitimate, put the tax refunds from those fraudulent tax returns on pre-paid debit cards, and sent them to people involved this scheme.  Those people then cashed out the debit cards at ATM machines.   Austin was paid for each stolen identity she stole from Troy Hospital. 

“By now, the public is aware that identity theft and tax fraud are enormous problems in this District,” said U.S. Attorney Beck.  “My office is unrelenting, and we will not let up on these criminals, we will continue to utilize all the resources possible to prosecute and bring these criminals to justice.  We cannot and will not allow these criminals to continue to prey on our citizens.”

"Identity thieves come in all forms, a complete stranger or a neighbor down the street,”
stated IRS Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge, Donald B. Yaden. “Whatever their background IRS Criminal Investigation and the United States Attorney’s office are dedicated to identifying, investigating and vigorously prosecuting those individuals who chose to victimize and steal from honest individuals.”

The maximum punishment for conspiring to defraud the Government with respect to claims is a term of imprisonment of not more than 10 years, a fine which may be no more than $250,000.00, and a period of supervised release not to exceed three years.  The maximum punishment for fraud in connection with identification documents is a term of imprisonment of not more than fifteen years, a fine not to exceed $250,000.00, and a period of supervised release of not more than three years. 

The maximum punishment for fraud in connection with computers is a term of imprisonment of not more than five years, a fine not to exceed $250,000.00, and a period of supervised release of not more than three years.  The punishment for a conviction of aggravated identity theft is a two year period of imprisonment in addition to the sentence for the underlying felony, a fine not to exceed $250,000.00, and a period of supervised release which may not be more than one year. 

Source:  U.S. Department of Justice, Middle District of Alabama