Former Fort Benning Employee Accused of Identity Theft Scheme

Montgomery, AL – Tracy Mitchell, a former employee at the hospital at Fort Benning, Georgia, was indicted by a federal grand jury for her involvement in a stolen identity refund fraud scheme.

According to the indictment, Mitchell stole the identification data of military personnel, including soldiers who were deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, and used their information to file false tax returns. Mitchell filed over 1,000 false returns claiming over $2.2 million from her home in Phenix City, Alabama.

During the investigation, federal agents executed a search warrant at Mitchell’s residence in Phenix City and found over $300,000 in cash stored in a safe.

U.S. Attorney George L. Beck, Jr. stated, ‘Identity theft is a horrible crime, but stealing identities from those who are serving our country is absolutely deplorable. While the defendant is presumed innocent, my office will vigorously prosecute those who prey on our military.’

Mitchell was charged with several counts of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, carrying a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison for each wire fraud count and a mandatory two-year sentence for the aggravated identity theft counts.

The case was investigated by special agents of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and the United States Army – Criminal Investigation Division. Trial Attorney Michael Boteler of the Tax Division and Assistant United States Attorney Todd Brown are prosecuting the case.

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