Thread: Georgia Supreme Court reviews ID theft case by illegal immig

http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/hall/ ... ?ID=107281

Posted Sunday, September 24 at 2:38 PM

Georgia Supreme Court reviews ID theft case by illegal immigrant
by The Associated Press

ATLANTA - When Jason Smith contacted the Internal Revenue Service to find out why his $600 tax refund hadn't arrived, he received a nasty surprise: The government was waiting for him to pony up $12,000 in back taxes.

As it turned out, the Danielsville, Ga., man was not to blame. Another "Jason Smith" racked up the unpaid taxes. An illegal immigrant named Nohe Gomez Hernandez had used Smith's Social Security number to get a job at a chicken plant in Bethlehem, Ga., and worked there under that false name for at least three years, long enough to be promoted from line worker to supervisor.

The state's highest court is expected to review on Monday whether Georgia's identity theft law applies to an illegal immigrant such as Hernandez, who was sentenced to two years in prison for violating that law after a jury found him guilty in April.

Defense attorney Jana Whaley of Royston, Ga., contends that Hernandez' actions aren't covered by the state law, which was created to keep people from stealing others' personal information and using it to pillage bank accounts or run up credit card bills.

"The identity fraud statute certainly does not address on its face the issue of immigrants using false names and Social Security numbers to get jobs," Whaley wrote in a court brief.

Hernandez used Smith's name and Social Security number solely to get a job for his family and never tried to interfere with Smith's credit or accounts, Whaley said.

But prosecutors countered that the illegal immigrant's actions were an attempt to take at least $600 from Smith and that the Georgia man's Social Security card is considered his personal property.

After the IRS told Smith that he owed the government thousands in back taxes, he requested his work history from the federal agency. It said that Smith, who works in a commissary at the Navy School in Athens, Ga., was also working at Harrison Poultry, about 20 miles away in Bethlehem, Ga.

The IRS said Smith owed back taxes because the two full-time jobs under his name forced him into a higher tax bracket, said District Attorney Robert Lavender.

"He was having two incomes and that caused him to be underpaying taxes, which he didn't know he was doing," Lavender said.

A Madison County Sheriff's investigator went to the plant and found Hernandez, who was wearing an apron with Smith's name on it. Hernandez was indicted in October 2005.

Hernandez "was known by his employer as Jason Smith and even had the nerve to meet with law enforcement in a smock that had the name 'Jason' sewn on. No doubt, the appellant intended to assume the identity of the victim," Assistant District Attorney James Webb wrote in a court brief.

Across the country, anti-illegal immigration groups have raised alarms about illegal immigrants using others' Social Security numbers to gain jobs. Homeland Security officials have called on Congress to allow the Social Security Administration to share information with immigration-enforcement agents at work sites.

This year, the U.S. House and Senate have passed immigration-reform bills that call for employers to verify Social Security numbers in a national database, making it more difficult to use another person's Social Security information to gain employment.

In Hernandez' case, Whaley said the Georgia law "would be in direct conflict" with the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which specifically addresses the use of false documents by unauthorized aliens to gain employment.

Webb denied any conflict between the state identity theft law and federal laws.

"No obstacles would appear if the state prosecuted an illegal alien for identity fraud and if the federal government prosecuted him," Webb wrote.

It is amazing that the courts would even consider that theft of a social security number to obtain employment may not fall under the Identifcation theft statutes. Social Security numbers have become the basis of daily transactions including voting, buying a home and credit reporting. This is Identy Theft and does impact the orginal and rightful owner.

We seem to have lost our common sense and much of the reason is directly due to successful obfuscation, parsing and redefining carried on lby the trial lawyers of this nation. They've been the target of substantial criticism lately and are embarrassed enough to change their name. No longer are they the American Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA). Their new name is American Association for Justice (AAJ). I guess they think that'll help their crappy reputation. And the legislatures -- why can't they simplify their efforts and get at least one enforceable paragraph on the books? Perhaps we need a law that says this crumb should be caned before imprisonment 'cuz he used somebody else's number. That seems simple enough. sheesh.

Aw heck, forget it, they are just good people looking for a better way of life right? Yea, our lives!