A Stone Mountain woman used the identities of disabled and homeless persons to file fraudulent tax returns to steal money from the government, according to an indictment handed up by a federal grand jury.
Cora Cadia Ford, 54, has been charged with mail fraud, aggravated identity theft and filing false claims, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta said.
“This defendant is accused of stealing the identities of some of our community’s most vulnerable – individuals with physical or mental disabilities, and the homeless,” U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said in a news release. “We will make every effort to bring to justice those who seek to prey on the disadvantaged.”
Ford was arraigned Wednesday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Gerrilyn G. Brill and released on bond.
In a case investigated by the IRS, prosecutors said Ford’s scheme ran from January 2007 to May 2011.
The woman allegedly got the names and Social Security numbers of mentally handicapped, physically disabled or homeless persons, telling some that she would help them obtain homeless benefits or obtain money from a government program for the disabled.
Instead, Ford filed fraudulent federal tax returns seeking false refunds, intending to pocket the proceeds herself, prosecutors said. Authorities did not disclose how much money the woman allegedly stole.
Each mail fraud count carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years, while each false claim count has a maximum prison sentence of five years. The aggravated identity theft charge adds at least one mandatory two-year sentence to any other sentence imposed. Ford also could be fined up to $250,000 for each count.
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