Former Hinds County Detention Center lieutenant given prison time for fraud, identity theft
SHREVEPORT, La. May 12 2017 – A Mississippi woman was sentenced Monday to 94 months in prison for being part of a scheme to file fraudulent income tax returns using stolen identities and causing the refunds to be mailed to post office boxes in Louisiana.
Shannon A. Brumfield, 50, of Byram, was sentenced to more than 7½ years in prison by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. on two counts of mail fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft.
She was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $386,141 in restitution. According to the Jan. 11 guilty plea,
Brumfield used her position as a lieutenant at Hinds County Detention Center to access the Hinds County Jail Management System and steal names and Social Security numbers of inmates and other individuals.
Brumfield and other members of the conspiracy not named in the indictment used the stolen identities to file fictitious IRS tax returns from May 2011 until December 2012. Based on the fraudulent returns, the IRS issued tax refunds and mailed them to U.S. Post Office boxes in Tallulah, Louisiana
“Ms. Brumfield shamelessly abused her position as a law enforcement officer by stealing the identities of individuals listed in a sheriff’s office computer system,” said acting U.S. Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook.
“Despite her vow to serve and protect, she used her position to line her own pockets. The 94-month sentence imposed and the recovery of the ill-gotten gains should send a strong message that this sort of crime does not pay.”
Jerome R. McDuffie, special agent in charge of Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, agreed.
“This sentencing is a stern reminder that participation in refund fraud schemes does not pay and those who do so will be held accountable,” he said.
“Ms. Brumfield participated in a scheme in which stolen identities were used to file over 300 false tax returns. Refunds totaling over $1 million were requested by the scheme participants for personal gain. Identity theft is an ongoing problem, and IRS-CI will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute those engaged in these illegal activities.
Our agency will continue to work with the U.S. attorney’s office and other federal agencies to aggressively protect innocent taxpayers and preserve the integrity of our tax system.”
Clarion Ledger
