DA VANCE ANNOUNCES INDICTMENT OF SERIAL IDENTITY THIEF FOR STEALING IDENTITY TO GAIN EMPLOYMENT
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., recently announced the indictment of FAHDIA KHAN, 40, for obtaining employment by using the stolen identity of a friend and former colleague on employment application forms, direct deposit forms, and tax documents. The defendant is charged in New York State Supreme Court with Identity Theft in the First Degree, Forgery in the Second and Third Degrees, Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, and Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree.
“This defendant is charged with stealing the identities of her friends and former colleagues,” said District Attorney Vance. “Identity theft is an ever-growing challenge for private industry and law enforcement alike, which is why my Office’s Cybercrime and Identity Theft Bureau works closely with financial and technology companies to prevent and detect compromised identities and accounts. We will continue to aggressively pursue those who illegally take advantage of the rapidly growing digitization of information for their own nefarious purposes.”
According to the charges and statements made in court, FAHDIA KHAN obtained employment with Amplify Education by using the stolen identity of a former colleague and friend to hide her own true identity and criminal history. KHAN provided Amplify with direct deposit information for a bank account created using the name and tax information of the victim, including the victim’s social security number. The victim had no knowledge of the existence of the bank account, nor did she know that KHAN was earning taxable income by using the victim’s name and social security number. KHAN also signed business records with the victim’s name, including a federal I-9 identity verification form.
KHAN was previously indicted on November 1, 2013, for possessing a forged state ID, as well as credit cards also obtained by using a different victim’s social security number.
Assistant District Attorney Kenn Kern, Deputy Chief of the Cybercrime and Identity Theft Bureau, and Assistant District Attorney Andrea Woloski, are prosecuting this case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Brenda Fischer, Chief of the Cybercrime and Identity Theft Bureau, and Assistant District Attorney Armand Durastanti, Chief of Trial Bureau 40. Cybercrime Analyst Meredith Foster assisted with the investigation.
District Attorney Vance also thanked Amplify Education for assisting with the investigation.
Defendant Information:
FAHDIA KHAN, D.O.B. 10/11/1973
Bronxville, NY
Charges:
• Forgery in the Second Degree, a class D felony, seven counts
• Identity Theft in the First Degree, a class D felony, one count
• Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, a class D felony, three counts
• Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, a class E felony, 10 count