Montgomery Woman Sentenced to 54 Months in Prison for Her Role in Identity Theft and Tax Fraud Scheme

Montgomery, Alabama – On Wednesday, January 10, 2018, Kidiamond Sharagnes Pearson, 25, of Montgomery, Alabama received a sentence of 54 months in prison for her participation in a scheme to steal identities and then file fraudulent tax returns, announced United States Attorney Louis V. Franklin, Sr. There is no parole in the federal system.

Through her job position, Pearson had access to identifying information of individuals who applied for jobs with her employer. The identifying information included names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers. Pearson would steal paperwork containing the identifying information from her employer, and give the documents to a co-conspirator, James Vernon Battle. Battle, also from Montgomery, then used the stolen information to file fraudulent federal income tax returns claiming more than $400,000 in undue tax refunds.

After committing her offense, Pearson pled guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. James Battle was previously sentenced to 61 months in November of 2016 for his role in the scheme.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division, with assistance from the United States Secret Service. Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan S. Ross prosecuted the case.