Federal prosecutors say a woman from Walton County has been sentenced to four years in prison: the US Attorney’s Office in Atlanta says 55 year-old Deborah McNeil of Loganville was part of a ring that stole $6 million from the federal government as part of an identity theft operation. Two other co-defendants—one man from Paulding County and another from Cobb County—will also serve time in federal prison.
From WSB TV…
Three people from the metro Atlanta area were sentenced after stealing $6 million from the federal government.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia said they stole the funds through a “far-ranging fraud and identity theft ring” where they laundered government funds.
“In just a few months, these defendants used hundreds of stolen identities and laundered millions in fraud proceeds from government programs—several of which were designed to help those most severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,” U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said. “Their sentences reflect the scope of their conduct and our commitment to partner with federal, state, and local investigators to prosecute individuals who seek to exploit government programs.”
Officials said the money was obtained by Edwin Owie, Deborah McNeill and Osemwengie Imarhia through the use of stolen identification information and by opening fraudulent bank accounts.
The USAO said the three took in unemployment benefits, economic impact payments, fraudulent federal income tax refunds, and Small Business Administration loans from at least 21 states from January 2020 to October 2020.
“These convicted criminals caused great stress to their victims upending their lives when they stole their identities and utilized the stolen identities to fraudulently gain federal tax funds intended to aid taxpayers,” Demetrius Hardeman, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office, said in a statement.
In addition to prison time, Owie, McNeill and Imarhia will have to pay restitution to federal and state victims, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
As a result, the following charges and sentences were delivered:
· Edwin Owie, 63, of Dallas, Georgia, was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,390,357.03 in restitution to the federal and state victims. Owie pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit access device fraud and aggravated identity theft.
· Deborah McNeill, 55, of Loganville, Georgia, was sentenced to four years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,390,357.03 in restitution to the federal and state victims. McNeill pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit access device fraud and aggravated identity theft.
· Osemwengie Imarhia, 43, of Acworth, Georgia, was sentenced to two years, six months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,390,357.03 in restitution to the federal and state victims. Imarhia pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit access device fraud.