Ten Indicted In Scheme To Steal Confidential Tax, Financial And Medical Data

Via TheMoneyBlogs.com -

Ten people have been indicted on federal charges of trying to illegally obtain confidential information on more than 12,000 citizens across the country.

The federal indictment, unsealed today in Seattle, Wash., alleges that the owners of the Bellair, Wash.-based BNT Investigations, the company's office manager and seven associated private investigators across the country posed as others in order to get government agencies -- including the IRS, the Social Security Administration and various state employment security offices -- to provide confidential information.

The year-long investigation dubbed, "Operation Dialing for Dollars", also revealed that some of the individuals posed as representatives of doctors' offices to get medical or pharmacy records.
Variety of charges: All 10 defendants are charged with Conspiracy and Wire Fraud and with Aggravated Identity Theft. Seven are charged with Fraudulent Elicitation of Social Security Administration information. Six are charged with Solicitation of Federal Tax Information.

According to a release issued by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration's office, the defendants include Emilio and Brandy Torrella, owners of BNT Investigations, and the company's office manager, Steven W. Berwick. All are from Belfair, Wash., and are scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Tacoma later today.

The seven non-BNT employees named in the federal indictment as co-conspirators are private investigators from across the country: Victoria J. Tade of San Diego, Calif.; Megan Ososke of Beverton, Ore.; Esaun G. Pinto, Sr., and Patrick A. Bombino, both of Brookyn, N.Y.; and Houston, Texas, residents Darci P. Templeton, Robert Grieve and Ziad N. Sakhleh.

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According to sources close to the case, a minor correction is needed.

The correct spelling of Mr. Sakhleh is Zihad and not Ziad.