Orlando, FL - United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the return of an indictment charging Lashunda Veneice Redd (35, Orlando) with one count of theft of government money, two counts of aggravated identity theft, and nine counts of making, uttering, and possessing counterfeit and forged securities. If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison for the theft of government money, a mandatory minimum of 2 years’ imprisonment for each aggravated identity theft charge, and a maximum of 10 years in prison for the counterfeit and forged securities charges.
According to court documents, between December 2014 and April 2015, across at least four Central Florida counties, Redd stole money from the Social Security Administration. Following up on a lead from the Bureau of Fiscal Services, investigators learned that Redd’s mother had requested several replacement checks for her Social Security benefits. These checks were then altered to be made payable to different individuals, including Redd, for larger dollar amounts. On Jan. 22, 2015, Redd cashed a check originally made payable to her mother that had been altered to name her (Redd) as the payee. The amount of money payable on the check had also been altered from $640 to $1,940, resulting in a loss of $1,300 to the government.
On December 3 and 24, 2014, Redd unlawfully used two other individuals’ means of identification to commit bank fraud in relation to her fraudulently altered United States Treasury check scheme.
The investigation also revealed that Redd had made, uttered, and possessed counterfeit and forged checks, which she had used at Publix stores in Orange, Brevard, and Seminole counties from January to March 2015, resulting in a loss of thousands of dollars to Publix.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, and the Department of Treasury, Office of the Inspector General. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joseph M. Schuster.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
