Montgomery Worker Motley Sentenced for ID Fraud

Montgomery, Alabama – In a grim turn of events, Chequlia Motley, a former state employee from Montgomery, has been sentenced to 36 months in federal prison for conspiracy and aggravated identity theft. The announcement came yesterday from Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney George L. Beck, Jr., for the Middle District of Alabama.

Motley had previously pleaded guilty to the charges in May. Her treachery stemmed from her tenure at the Alabama State Employees’ Insurance Board, where she is accused of stealing personal information from over 100 state workers and their families from the board’s databases.

This pilfered data was funneled to Veronica Temple, Yolanda Moses, and Barbara Murry. They then utilized the stolen identities to file false tax returns with fraudulent requests for refunds from the IRS. All three were previously sentenced to 57 months in February.

In addition to her prison term, Motley has been ordered to pay $179,946 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. The investigation was conducted by agents of the IRS – Criminal Investigation, while Trial Attorneys Michael Boteler and Jason Poole from the Justice Department’s Tax Division prosecuted the case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama, particularly Assistant United States Attorney Todd Brown, played a significant role in the prosecution. For more information on the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts, visit justice.gov/tax.

For press inquiries, contact Clark Morris at usaalm.press@usdoj.gov or (334) 551-1755.