Linda Pylant, Wire Fraud and More, Maryland 2021

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury indicted Linda Pylant, 57, of Grasonville, Maryland, for wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, social security fraud, and tax evasion on May 19, 2021. Pylant was arrested and appeared in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.

The indictment alleges that Pylant, while working as an office administrator at a trade association from 2012 to July 2020, diverted over $700,000 worth of checks intended for her employer into a bank account she opened without the employer’s knowledge or consent. The indictment states that Pylant hid the existence of the account from her employer by causing bank statements to be mailed to her home address.

Pylant allegedly used the diverted funds to pay for retail shopping, dining, and grocery expenditures, as well as withdrew cash from the account. She also spent over $75,000 at a local bingo hall. The indictment further alleges that Pylant applied for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) in 2015, falsely stating that she was disabled and unable to work, even though she continued to work and earn income from her employment at the trade association.

Pylant received and spent over $125,000 in SSDI benefit payments to which she was not entitled. According to the indictment, Pylant evaded reporting her taxable income by causing her employer to pay her through a non-existent entity, LPSR Inc. Pylant allegedly caused her employer to pay LPSR over $100,000, which was not reported to the Internal Revenue Service.

The indictment alleges that Pylant made false statements to the SSA concerning her income and employment, including claiming that her employment with the trade association had ended in May 2014. Pylant also allegedly made false statements in connection with her bankruptcy petition in 2016, claiming that she was disabled, had zero earned income, and was not required to file any tax returns.

Pylant faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each of five counts of wire fraud, a mandatory two years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, for aggravated identity theft, and a maximum of five years in federal prison for social security fraud and for tax evasion. If convicted, Pylant could face a total of 102 years in prison and significant fines.

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