Telephone Customer Service Representative Pleads Guilty To Wire Fraud Conspiracy

Michael J. Moore, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announced that Lavrinda Hamilton, aged 40, of Albany, Georgia, entered a plea of guilty on May 12, 2015, to an information charging her with conspiracy to commit wire fraud before the Honorable Leslie J. Abrams, U.S. District Court Judge, in Albany, Georgia.

According to the information, between March 2011 and September 2012, Ms. Hamilton accessed personal identity and customer account data for over fifty different telephone customers from a computer at her job site at Teleperformance in Albany, Georgia.  She then sent the account and identity data to unknown conspirators and received payment via pre-paid debit cards.  The unknown conspirators filed insurance claims for lost or stolen phones and received replacement phones at third-party addresses.          

Ms. Hamilton faces a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment, a maximum fine of $250,000, or both.  She will be sentenced in about 60 days following a pre-sentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.

The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Crane is prosecuting the case for the Government.

“Identity theft is one of the most prolific crimes in the country and in the seventy counties of the Middle District of Georgia. This is the second case my office has seen in a week where an employee has abused the trust placed in them by both the employer and the customer to perpetrate a fraud for personal gain.  We will vigorously prosecute these cases whenever they come to us,” said United States Attorney Michael Moore.

"As identity theft becomes more prevalent, the Secret Service will remain steadfast in aggressively investigating those responsible for using stolen identities to commit fraud. Along with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to pursue those committing these crimes," said Resident Agent in Charge Clint Bush, U.S. Secret Service, Albany, Georgia.

Questions concerning this case should be directed to Pamela Lightsey, Public Information Officer, United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 621-2603.