ERIE, Pa. - A resident of Erie, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 24 months in jail and ordered to make restitution in the amount of $62,653.00 on her conviction of aggravated identity theft, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on Katrina A. House, 45.
According to information presented to the court, House conspired with another individual to defraud the United States by submitting false claims for income tax refunds using individuals’ identification information which was unlawfully obtained. House stole the identities of 71 individuals who were clients of the Community of Caring, a non-profit social service agency in Erie, Pennsylvania where House is employed. House and her co-defendant sought refunds from the IRS of more than $100,000.00 and used the stolen identities and falsified W-2 forms to perpetrate the fraudulent tax refund scheme. House and her co-defendant successfully obtained more than $60,000.00 in tax refunds from the fraudulent scheme and converted that money to their own use.
Assistant United States Attorney Marshall J. Piccinini prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of House.