Sunday, January 13, 2013

Teacher Victim of Identity Theft by Undocumented Immigrant

Benita Cardona-Gonzalez, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, plead guilty to assuming the identity of Candida Gutierrez, a teacher in Texas according to the Associated Press. Benita Cardona-Gonzalez was living in Topeka, Kansas at the time.  According to Candida Gutierrez, the woman opened credits cards and bank accounts with her social security number. She also used the number to buy a home and to get food stamps from the local Department of Human Resources. Candida had realized that her identity had been stolen after being turned down for a mortgage about 12 years ago. This is something that Ms.Gutierrez had been dealing with for many years. The woman has accepted a plea deal which means that she will serve 18 months in Federal prison and then agree to deportation after she finishes her sentence.

The twist in the case: Ms. Gutierrez was turned down by the Social Security Administration for a new social security number, but a new number was issued to the woman who had been impersonating her for years. According to ABC NEWS, Candida Gutierrez had to file her income taxes with a special EIN number, which is usually reserved for undocumented workers.

Sources
ABCNEWS
Associated Press






No comments:

Post a Comment