Florida Couple Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Theft of Government Funds and Aggravated Identity Theft
From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida:
Orlando, Florida – Billy Altidor (28, Wellington) and Evanie Louis (27, Wellington) have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit theft of government funds and aggravated identity theft. Each faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison on the conspiracy charge, and a consecutive mandatory minimum of two years’ imprisonment, on the aggravated identity theft charge. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, Altidor, Louis, and their co-conspirators used stolen personally identifiable information (PII) to access the “My Social Security” (MySSA) online portal and redirect Social Security benefit payments to accounts controlled by the conspirators. The conspirators accessed or attempted to access MySSA accounts belonging to over 1,400 different individuals, without the victims’ knowledge or authorization.
Louis, Altidor, and their co-conspirators also used stolen PII to file false tax returns and directed the fraudulently obtained tax refunds into accounts controlled by the conspirators. In addition, they used stolen identities to activate debit cards and bank accounts to receive the fraudulent tax refunds.
This case was investigated by the Social Security Administration – Office of the Inspector General, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, and the Department of the Treasury – Office of the Inspector General. It was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Suzanne Huyler.
Orlando, Florida – Billy Altidor (28, Wellington) and Evanie Louis (27, Wellington) have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit theft of government funds and aggravated identity theft. Each faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison on the conspiracy charge, and a consecutive mandatory minimum of two years’ imprisonment, on the aggravated identity theft charge. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, Altidor, Louis, and their co-conspirators used stolen personally identifiable information (PII) to access the “My Social Security” (MySSA) online portal and redirect Social Security benefit payments to accounts controlled by the conspirators. The conspirators accessed or attempted to access MySSA accounts belonging to over 1,400 different individuals, without the victims’ knowledge or authorization.
Louis, Altidor, and their co-conspirators also used stolen PII to file false tax returns and directed the fraudulently obtained tax refunds into accounts controlled by the conspirators. In addition, they used stolen identities to activate debit cards and bank accounts to receive the fraudulent tax refunds.
This case was investigated by the Social Security Administration – Office of the Inspector General, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, and the Department of the Treasury – Office of the Inspector General. It was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Suzanne Huyler.