Results 1 to 3 of 3

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

  1. #1
    Banned
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    South Western Ohio
    Posts
    5,278

    Plea: aggravated identity theft in federally funded pro

    The United States Department of Justice
    District of Montana



    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    Thursday, January 03, 2008



    LYNN MARGARET ROSENBERG SENTENCED IN U.S. DISTRICT COURT





    Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Billings, on January 3, 2008, before U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, LYNN MARGARET ROSENBERG, a 50-year-old resident of Harlowton, appeared for sentencing. ROSENBERG was sentenced to a term of:

    Prison: 54 months
    Special Assessment: $300
    Restitution: $206,223.02
    Supervised Release: 3 years
    ROSENBERG was sentenced in connection with her guilty plea to theft from a federally funded program and aggravated identity theft.

    In an Offer of Proof filed by the United States, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:

    From 1991 until her termination in 2006, ROSENBERG was employed as an Eligibility Examiner for the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, Bureau of Public Assistance, in Harlowton. It was ROSENBERG'S responsibility to review applications for public assistance benefits for residents of Wheatland County. The assistance benefits primarily provided during that time were food stamps and temporary assistance to families.

    During 2006, the Montana Department of Health and Human Services, Public Assistance Bureau (MPAB) submitted the names and Social Security numbers of Montana beneficiaries to Administration for Children and Families (ACF), an agency under the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DPHHS). Through a process there, Montana beneficiaries were checked against the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH) database in an attempt to identify beneficiaries who are not reporting their wages.

    A payment approved by ROSENBERG triggered a "hit" on the NDNH database. A man ROSENBERG named as the recipient was an Oregon truck driver earning more than $80,000 per year since 2003. When contacted, the man informed MPAB that he had not received benefits since he left Wheatland County in 1991.

    This information resulted in an audit by the Audit Bureau as well as an investigation by the Montana Division of Criminal Investigations (DCI), to see if other unusual patterns or suspicious activity of beneficiaries in Wheatland County were taking place.

    There were two areas of concern. One was the use of the electronic benefit transaction (EBT) cards used to withdraw money and purchase food via food stamps for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) by using the EBT card. The second was the use of three post office boxes for DPHHS correspondence - two in Harlowton and one in Ryegate.

    The EBT activity reviewed included withdrawals of TANF cash from ATM machines, mostly in Harlowton and in Billings, as well as food stamps purchases mostly at Wal-Mart in Billings. The Audit Bureau identified that on more than one occasion several beneficiaries used the same ATM machines for TANF cash withdrawals within minutes of each other.

    On February 13, 2005, six beneficiaries made cash withdraws at the same ATM machine within an eleven minute period. It was also very unusual to have so many food purchases in Billings by Wheatland County benefits recipients, considering the availability of convenience and grocery stores in Harlowton and other neighboring towns. Public assistance recipients generally do not travel 90 miles to do their shopping.

    Many beneficiaries were receiving EBT cards, checks, and food stamps at P.O. Box 4920 in Harlowton. This is the postal address for the Wheatland County DPHHS office which is where ROSENBERG, the only eligibility examiner in Wheatland County for DPHHS, was employed. ROSENBERG was the only one with a key to the mail box. ROSENBERG knew or should have known that it was contrary to DPHHS policy for beneficiaries to receive any mail or benefits at the DPHHS office. Several other beneficiaries received EBT cards, checks, or food stamps at P.O. Box 125 in Ryegate. This box was opened by ROSENBERG in March of 2002 and closed in April of 2004, showing ROSENBERG as the only key holder. ROSENBERG'S personal mailing address of P.O. Box 668 in Harlowton was also used as a delivery point for public assistance benefits.

    The investigation, having been joined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of Inspector General, determined that approximately forty-six beneficiaries had been legitimate cases prior to ROSENBERG reactivating or opening new files on them through the DPHHS database. In addition to the forty-six, there are at least six beneficiary accounts that ROSENBERG created that do not appear to correspond to any real person. The investigation found that ROSENBERG not only created, or re-created individual beneficiaries, but also case notes that were completely fabricated; providing unreliable addresses, post office boxes, family members, employment, and convictions, as well as injuries and illnesses.

    Interviews of many of the beneficiaries revealed that almost all of them have lived out of state for many years.

    Over a hundred checks issued to beneficiaries were reviewed. Checks were countersigned by ROSENBERG as well as deposited into her personal account. Several legitimate check signatures of beneficiaries were compared to the checks that were received at one of the post office boxes listed above after the beneficiary had moved out of state and they appeared forged. None of the beneficiaries interviewed ever authorized ROSENBERG to countersign or sign their name on checks.

    ROSENBERG was employed with MPAB from March of 1991 to September 2006. During that time she was the sole person who had taken action on these cases, authorized and issued benefits, and had checks and EBT cards mailed to post office boxes only she had access to, thereby implicating her as the card holder, check casher, and user of the benefits issued to multiple beneficiaries who no longer lived in Montana.

    Since 1996, when ROSENBERG'S scheme appears to have been devised and initially executed, the Montana's DPHHS has received millions of federal dollars each year to provide in Food Stamp program and TANF benefits.

    The investigation has determined that ROSENBERG embezzled over $194,000 dollars of federal USDA and HHS funds between October of 1996 and June of 2006.

    Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that ROSENBERG will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, ROSENBERG does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl E. Rostad prosecuted the case for the United States.

    The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Montana Division of Criminal Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of Inspector General.





    United States Attorney's Office for the District of Montana

    P.O. Box 1478
    Billings, MT 59103

    CONTACT

    Jessica T. Fehr
    Assistant U.S. Attorney
    (406) 247-4637

    http://saltlakecity.fbi.gov/dojpressrel ... 010308.htm

  2. #2
    Senior Member redpony353's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    SF
    Posts
    4,883


    WOW.....STEALING FROM THE POOR. AND THIS MONEY COULD HAVE GONE TO NEEDY CHILDREN FOR FOOD THAT THEY WENT WITHOUT AS A RESULT.
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

  3. #3
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Posts
    7,377
    Yes, this money could have been put to good use, butm she was also stealing for the taxpayers.
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •