The other day I posted information on an insider breach at Electronic Data Systems that had pretty much flown under the media radar. Today, I came across this subsequent press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama that names yet another Electronic Data Systems employee who appears to have been part of a second ring:
Janika Fernae Bates of Millbrook, Ala., was convicted of identity theft, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to make false claims for tax refunds, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.
According to evidence introduced at trial, Bates obtained the names and Social Security numbers of student loan borrowers from the databases at her former employer, Electronic Data Systems, and conspired to use the stolen identifying information to steal money from the government. Several victims testified that they did not consent to the use of their names and Social Security numbers on tax returns and testified that they did not receive any money from refunds generated from the false documents filed with the IRS. Evidence also revealed that Bates and her co-conspirator, Keshia Brayboy, who pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return in 2009 and testified at trial, fraudulently obtained refund anticipation loans from the bank HSBC predicated on the fraudulently filed tax returns.
Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 19, 2011. Bates faces a minimum of two years in prison, a maximum of 354 years in prison and a maximum fine of $6,250,000.
This case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by Justice Department Tax Division Trial Attorneys Justin Gelfand and Jason Poole. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division, John A. DiCicco, thanked U.S. Attorney George L. Beck Jr. and his entire office for their assistance.
So how many employees at Electronic Data Systems were involved in these two fraud rings? Were there any others involved in these two cases?
By my count, that makes three insider breaches at EDS between 2006-2008, two of which managed to escape mainstream media attention. For a fuller listing of breaches involving EDS, see the archives at DataLossDB.org.