Scammers imprisoned after stealing IDs of Medicaid recipients

Two fraudsters responsible for a multi-million fraud ring to steal the identities of Medicaid beneficiaries, were sentenced this week to face more than 25 years in prison and to pay back the Internal Revenue Service $2.8 million, the U.S. Justice Department and IRS said Tuesday. Beginning in 2009 and continuing through 2010, Veronica Dale, who previously worked for a company that serviced Medicaid programs, used the stolen identities to get $3.7 million in tax refunds by filing more than 500 fake returns. Dale and Alchico Grant then directed the funds into bank accounts.

"These sentences once again demonstrate the wide-spread and destructive nature of identity theft," observed George Beck, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama. Announcement