Marsha Harrington, Identity Theft, Missouri 2014

St. Louis, MO – Three individuals from the St. Louis area, including Marsha Harrington, Calvin Shaw, and Larry Corner, have been convicted of identity theft charges.

Harrington, a manager at the Clinton-Peabody Housing Complex, used her position to acquire the social security numbers and personal information of tenants. She then filed false tax returns using this information and kept the tax refund for herself. Shaw and Corner provided Harrington with identity information, and she shared the tax refund with them.

Misusing her position of trust, Harrington stole the identities of people and filed false tax returns in their names, said Sybil Smith, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation.

The defendants pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to commit identity theft and one felony count of identity theft. Harrington and Shaw entered their pleas in July, while Corner appeared in court on Tuesday afternoon. Sentencing for Corner has been set for November 12, 2014, while Harrington and Shaw will be sentenced in October.

Conspiracy to commit identity theft carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000. Identity theft carries a maximum of 15 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000.

Assistant United States Attorney Stephen Casey is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney's Office. The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation.

Harrington, a resident of the St. Louis area, used her position as manager of the Clinton-Peabody Housing Complex to acquire the identities of tenants, including their social security numbers, and filed false tax returns using this information. Shaw and Corner provided Harrington with identity information, and she shared the tax refund with them.

According to court documents, Harrington kept the tax refund for herself, and shared the funds with Shaw and Corner if the tax return used a stolen name and social security number provided by them.

This case serves as a reminder that those who misuse their position of trust will be held accountable for their actions, said the authorities.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edmo/pr/manager-local-housing-complex-two-associates-plead-guilty-identity-theft-charges