DA: Man Stole IDs Of Brain-Injured People By North Country Gazette On April 15, 2012 ·

DA: Man Stole IDs Of Brain-Injured People

By North Country Gazette On April 15, 2012 · 

SUFFOLK COUNTY—The indictment will be unsealed Monday of a suspect who allegedly stole the identities of over 50 brain-injured people using his victims’ social security numbers and other ID data to file false tax returns to collect refunds from the states of New York and New Jersey and from the Internal Revenue Service.
Benjamin Achampong, 30, a U.S. citizen with dual citizenship in Ghana, is incarcerated in the Suffolk County jail in lieu of $50,000 cash bail.
Achampong worked as a manager for the Long Island Head Injury Association, an agency that provides housing and services for people who are severely disabled by traumatic brain injuries.
According to the indictment, Achampong stole the identities of over 50 head-injured victims and used their names and social security numbers to create false W-2 forms to electronically file returns and collect tax refunds using more than a dozen bank accounts under his control.
 His arrest and indictment is the result of a 14-month investigation by the district attorney’s Tax Crime Unit, the Identity Theft Section of the Suffolk County Police Department and the New York State Tax Department.
During his employment at LIHIA in 2006 and 2007, the defendant lived in apartment complexes in Coram and Patchogue.  4-15-12
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