Woman Sentenced for Using Fake I.D. to Receive Government Benefits

A Twin Cities woman was sentenced in federal court Friday, January 18, 2013, for using an alternative identity to fraudulently receive government benefits, including more than $18,000 in Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Oluremi George, 53, of Woodbury, aka Victoria Ayoola, pleaded guilty to one count of Social Security fraud and one count of making false statements. She was sentenced to two years of probation, and was ordered to pay $18,114 in restitution. She was indicted July 10.

This sentence resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

"Identity fraud poses a serious security vulnerability, which often contributes to a host of other crimes – including the false identity and financial fraud in this case," said Michael Feinberg, special agent in charge for HSI St. Paul. "Targeting these schemes is an enforcement priority for HSI.  We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to detect, investigate and dismantle identity fraud."

In her plea agreement, George admitted that she applied for, and received, a Social Security card under the name Victoria Ayoola Nov. 19, 1996. On the application, George indicated that she had never before been issued a Social Security number. However, she in fact had already received a Social Security number under the name Oluremi George, issued Nov. 26, 1991.

Since 1996, George had used both Social Security numbers and identities to apply for and renew Minnesota identification cards and driver's licenses, to seek and obtain employment, and to file federal and state tax returns. George also used the false identity to receive a lower monthly housing rental rate by qualifying for a LIHTC rental unit at Pondview Townhomes in Woodbury. George's fraud resulted in her underpaying more than $18,000 in rent since 2004.

Pondview is a low-income housing development that provides housing assistance to its residents through the use of HUD loans and funds, as well as through LIHTCs. To be eligible to live in one of the units, a person must make less than the federal annual tax credit income limit. In 2011, that limit for Washington County, where Woodbury is located, was $35,280.

In an effort to qualify for the subsidized housing unit, George certified that her anticipated 2011 income was $30,930, even though she knew it would actually be $55,887.13.

HSI was assisted in this case by the Social Security Administration's Office of Inspector General, HUD's Office of Inspector General, the U.S. State Department's Diplomatic Security Service, and the Minnesota State Patrol, with assistance from the Minnesota Secretary of State's Office.

Chicago Man Sentenced for Employment Fraud, Immigration Fraud

A local man was sentenced Wednesday, May 16, to three years in federal prison for engaging in a fraud scheme that caused the Illinois Department of Employment Insurance (IDES) to pay about $480,000 in unemployment insurance payments to more than 55 ineligible claimants who were not legally allowed to work in the United States.

The sentence was announced by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; James Vanderberg, special agent in charge of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General in Chicago; Gary Hartwig, special agent in charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Chicago; and Thomas P. Brady, inspector in charge of the U.S. Postal inspection Service in Chicago.

The defendant, Roberto Cisneros, pleaded guilty to mail fraud in January and was sentenced May 16 by U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber. Cisneros admitted that more than half of the fraudulently obtained proceeds, about $261,017, was deposited into bank accounts he controlled.

Cisneros, 34, who was in the country illegally when he was arrested in June 2011, has remained in federal custody and will be subject to deportation following completion of his sentence. He was ordered to pay restitution totaling $479,571 to IDES.

According to court documents, between 2006 and 2009 Cisneros accepted money to assist individuals whom he knew were ineligible for unemployment insurance payments by aiding a cohort in submitting fraudulent applications for benefits to an IDES employee for processing.

Unbeknownst to Cisneros, the individual to whom he provided the false applications had later begun cooperating with law enforcement. Cisneros knew that the claims he submitted and assisted in submitting for unemployment insurance were fraudulent because the claimants were not legally allowed to work in the United States due to their immigration status, making them ineligible to receive unemployment insurance payments.

Cisneros admitted assisting in obtaining unemployment insurance benefits on behalf of 57 individuals using Social Security numbers that did not match their names and/or dates of birth, numbers that were not issued by the Social Security Administration, or whose numbers matched their names but were not eligible to work in the United States.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Halley B. Guren and Matthew Getter, Northern District of Illinois, prosecuted the case.