Tampa, Florida - U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington today sentenced Willie Streater (25, Tampa) to six years and nine months in federal prison for access device fraud and aggravated identity theft. As part of his sentence, the Court entered a money judgment in the amount of $25,206, which is a portion of the proceeds traceable to the offense. Streater was also ordered to pay restitution in excess of $1 million to the IRS. He pleaded guilty on March 19, 2015.
According to court documents, Streater is a former employee of a shredding company that had a contract with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to shred documents at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa. Streater stole documents intended for shredding that contained the personal identifying information of U.S. veterans and sold them to multiple individuals engaged in filing fraudulent tax returns in order to steal tax refunds from the U.S. Treasury.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, and the Tampa Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
