SSA employee indicted for identity theft

A former Social Security Administration employee was indicted Wednesday in a U.S. District Court in Los Angeles for stealing identities from an SSA database, InformationWeek reports.

Jennifer Batiste, 45, allegedly received $20 for each query she made to an SSA computer network to collect social security numbers and other information needed to steal identities to apply for bogus credit cards, according to a government report. She allegedly handed the information over to Craig Harris, 50, and other co-conspirators, who used the data to make about $2.5 million worth of unauthorized charges to credit card accounts, the indictment alleges. Harris "pleaded guilty in September to conspiracy and unlawful possession of a means of identification. Harris, who faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, is scheduled to be sentenced on July 17," according to the article. Batiste faces a maximum of 15 years in federal prison.