Thread: Woman's SSN Used 81 Times to Get Jobs

Posted on Fri, Jun. 16, 2006

California woman's identity taken by suspected illegal immigrants

PETER PRENGAMAN
Associated Press

DUBLIN, Calif. - Audra Schmierer's Social Security number really gets around. At least 81 people in 17 states - most likely illegal immigrants - have used it to get work without her knowledge.

It took the government years to discover her information was being used illegally by so many people. Even then, authorities took little action.

"They knew what was happening but wouldn't do anything," said Schmierer, 33, a housewife in this affluent San Francisco suburb. "One name, one number, why can't they just match it up?"

The case is an egregious example of a common immigration problem: personal information being misused and federal authorities doing little to catch the culprits.

Under current law, employers do not have to verify Social Security numbers or other documents required for job seekers to be hired.

The situation has long drawn fire from anti-illegal immigration groups. But only recently has Congress moved to fix it. Both the House and Senate have passed immigration reform bills that call for employers to verify Social Security numbers in a national database.

Homeland Security officials have taken it a step further, calling on Congress to allow the Social Security Administration to share information with immigration enforcement agents at work sites.

"Identifying businesses that are habitually flagged for submitting mismatched Social Security numbers would bolster our work site enforcement efforts," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said earlier this month.

Currently, if the Internal Revenue Service or Social Security Administration find multiple people using the same Social Security number, the agencies send letters to employers informing them of possible errors.

The IRS can fine employers $50 for each inaccurate number filed, a punishment that companies often dismiss as just another cost of doing business.

"Sending letters is the limit to what can be done," Social Security spokesman Lowell Kepke said. "We expect that will be able to fix any records that are incorrect."

The information on mismatched names is seldom sent to other law enforcement agencies, IRS spokeswoman Michelle Lamishaw said.

Schmierer realized she had a problem in February 2005, when she got a statement from the IRS saying she owed $15,813 in back taxes - even though she hadn't worked since her son was born in 2000.

Perhaps even more surprising, the taxes were due from jobs in Texas.

Schmierer called the IRS and was told numerous people were using her Social Security number. Officials said the erroneous balances would be eliminated, but the agency would have to correct the problem again in future years.

"They told me they couldn't do anything else," Schmierer said.

IRS officials have declined to talk about Schmierer's case, citing privacy laws.

Schmierer has done a little investigating of her own, combing the tax bills sent to her for names and locations of employers who hired people using her number.

She also obtained 201 W-2s and 1099s from 2001 to 2004, all of which contained her Social Security number but different names. Schmierer provided copies of the records to The Associated Press.

People used her Social Security number from Florida to Washington state, at construction sites, fast-food restaurants and even major high-tech companies. Some opened bank accounts using the number.

Most worked multiple jobs in the same year, though some remained at the same companies for several years. The top wage earned was $39,465 by a man in Texas in 2003 who had $2,820 withheld in federal income taxes. A woman in Ohio earned $18,930 in 2002 and had $718 withheld by the IRS.

Most incomes reported under Schmierer's number were less than $15,000, with most people paying less than $1,000 in federal income tax. The documents do not indicate how many filed tax returns.

Though impossible to verify in every case, information gleaned from criminal investigations, tax documents and other sources suggested that most of the users were probably illegal immigrants.

Schmierer filed a police report after learning one man had used her information in 2003 at janitorial and landscaping companies near Haltom City, Texas.

Investigators found the man, who was not arrested but told police he had bought a fake Social Security card at a flea market, according to a police report.

Schmierer tracked down other people, finding that her number had been used to get work but not to access her credit card or bank accounts.

What started as a hassle turned into a major headache earlier this year when she sought work through a temporary agency that learned her Social Security number had been used by a woman in Texas two years earlier.

The agency, which confirmed the story but asked not to be named, couldn't hire Schmierer for more than a month while the situation was clarified.

"How do you prove that you are you?" Schmierer said. "It's like you are guilty until proven innocent."

While returning from a trip to Mexico with her husband last year, Schmierer was detained for four hours in a Dallas airport by immigration officials. The reason: a woman using her Social Security number was wanted for a felony.

Schmierer never determined how her number became so widely used. Sellers of fake documents often make up numbers and print them on many documents.

Schmierer's number became so compromised that Social Security officials finally decided this week to give her a new one - a rare step taken only in extreme cases, Kepke said.

Schmierer hopes the change will help her close the frustrating chapter but believes her old number will continue to be misused.

"It's clear to me that because my number has been used for so long, it's not going to stop," she said.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/...e/14836931.htm

One can only wonder how many times this has happened to how many people. The Senators are quick to offer amnesty for this too! This is just SO wrong for SO many reasons!

Investigators found the man, who was not arrested but told police he had bought a fake Social Security card at a flea market, according to a police report.

I know this has been said before but what if this was you or me, an American citizen that they caught???? Sure, they would just tell us "don't do that anymore, now be on your way"
Yeah right. Such crap!

The IRS and SSI know this goes on. They are all in cahoots with the feds to overlook this.

They could retire these SS#s the minute there is fraud and not allow it to go on for years - but they don't. If they put these fraudulent numbers in a database , they would have to kick back the info to employers who would be left with a fraudulent illegal employee. The feds don't want employers to have any trouble.

It makes me sick.

So what does Bush and the Senate want to do about these millions of illegals using other people's SS#s? Give them amnesty, of course. Break the law coming here illegally, that's OK. Steal or buy someone else's SS#, that's no big deal, we won't punish you. File false tax returns, no problemas, we don't care, we'll wipe your crimes clean. Ruin some innocent person's life by stealing their identity, no sweat, here's a green card. Use fake, forged or stole ID's to buy cars, homes or get a job, that's just fine, we'll give you amnesty and let you bring over all your family members as well. Oh by the way, need any food stamps, free healthcare for yourself and your 16 anchor babies, or maybe in-state tuition, it's OK, we have taxpayers to foot the bill for that. Welcome to America, the land of the rule of law.. for Americans, that is.

This story is getting a bit old, but it is still pertinent.

WASHINGTON - Two federal agencies routinely collect evidence of employers who hire illegal immigrants, but they don't share it with law enforcement.

The Social Security Administration and the IRS have the names and addresses of likely illegal workers and their employers. But privacy laws keep their files secret, except in rare criminal investigations.

The agencies, however, don't even use the power they have when they detect discrepancies. The IRS doesn't fine the employers who repeatedly submit inaccurate data about their workers. Social Security does virtually nothing to alert citizens whose Social Security numbers are being used by others.

It's illegal for companies to knowingly hire undocumented workers. Yet audits of the suspense file show such bold errors that it's apparent companies are flouting the law.

Social Security won't reveal its worst offenders, but auditors have found, for example:

• A restaurant company submitted 4,100 duplicate Social Security numbers for workers.

• Another company submitted 33,000 errant reports in one year.

• Forty companies made the worst 100 list repeatedly over eight years.

• Five industries, including agriculture, restaurants and construction, accounted for 43 percent of inaccurate wage reports

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/nation/14411281.htm

All the new laws in the world won't help if they're not enforced!

William Gheen was on a debate on a TV station not too long ago, I believe the video may be in the pictures section and that very thing came up in the discussion. He stated that illegals were using the social security numbers of american citizens and the others in the debate stated that it was no big deal. Then William said to them "what if it was your social security number they were using?" They all looked horrified and did not have a response. All pro-amnesty groups and advocates just look at this theft of social security numbers as a minor offense. It is in fact a major offense and all those found to be committing this crime should be prosecuted and deported. With regards to the $50 fine for employers it should definitely be much higher with the real owner of the social security number having the ability to sue that employer for not taking action.

http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=F ... =schmierer

And so began a long nightmare that eventually saw the IRS accusing Schmierer of owing $1 million in back taxes on income she never earned.

America is a nation of laws. But not for our President, not for illegal employers, not for foreign criminals, not for Congressional sell-outs, not for LA RAZA, not for MS 13, not for the Catholic church, not for Mexico.

But for you tax-paying citizens of this great land, America is a nation of
laws. Just try breaking one of the laws the others break. Jail time and
disgrace.