A federal grand jury in Georgia has indicted an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employee for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft according to the Justice Department.
According to the indictment, since November 2010, Stephanie Parker of Atlanta, Georgia, worked at the IRS and had access to taxpayers’ personal identifying information, such as social security numbers and dates of birth.
The indictment alleges that between September 2012 and April 2013, Parker exploited her IRS accesses to steal such personal information, which she then used to file tax returns seeking refunds in the names of other individuals. Parker allegedly directed the fraudulently obtained refunds into nominee bank accounts and used some of those funds to purchase money orders.
An indictment is a formal charge of a serious crime committed. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
If convicted, Parker faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud and a statutory minimum sentence of two years in prison for the aggravated identity theft counts. She also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.
