Loan Company Employee Got $400K From Stolen Identities

A loan company employee has pleaded guilty to stealing identities of several customers and fraudulently seeking $400,000 in tax returns.

According to court documents, Montgomery, Alabama resident Wendy Huff, who worked at two different insurance companies between January 2013 and August 2015, stole personal information of her employers’ customers, including their names, social security numbers and dates of birth.

Huff then sold the information to her co-conspirator James Vernon Battle, who allegedly filed 335 fraudulent tax returns and claimed over $400,000 from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the form of prepaid debit cards and U.S. Treasury checks, which were delivered to several addresses in Montgomery, including Huff’s residence.

The government alleges that the two co-conspirators worked together to get away with the tax returns. While Huff delivered the prepaid debit cards to Battle, in return, Battle sought Huff’s help in cashing the treasury checks through her position at the insurance companies. Huff returned half of the money to Battle and kept the remaining balance.

Huff, who has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, faces a maximum of five years in prison for conspiring and a minimum of two years in prison for the identity theft charged. In addition, she faces monetary penalties and restitution.

The court has set Huff’s sentencing for July 14 and has scheduled Battle’s trial to begin during the week of April 11.