Officials: Woman received lower rent courtesy of fake identity

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MINNEAPOLIS -- A Woodbury woman convicted of using a fake identity to receive thousands of dollars in federal housing credits was sentenced last week.

According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minneapolis, Victoria Ayoola, 53, was sentenced Friday, Jan. 18, to pay $18,114 in restitution and spend two years on probation by U.S. District Court Judge Joan Ericksen. Ayoola had been convicted on one count of Social Security fraud and one count of making false statements after pleading guilty to the charges in August 2012.

“This type of fraud poses serious security vulnerability, one that too often contributes to a host of other crimes – including identity theft and financial fraud,” said Michael Feinberg, special agent in charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations’ (ICE HIS) St. Paul field office. “Targeting schemes like this that enable individuals to obtain fraudulent U.S. identity documents is a top priority for ICE HSI, and we are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to detect, investigate, and dismantle this type of activity.”

According to the news release, Ayoola since 1996 used a phony name and Social Security number in addition to her actual name to obtain driver’s licenses, seek and obtain employment and file federal and state income tax returns.

She used the name Oluremi George to receive a lower rent by qualifying for the Low Income Housing Tax Credits program through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Prosecutors alleged Ayoola used the fake name to under report her income, which made her eligible to receive the tax credits.

According to the release, that resulted in more than $18,000 in underpayments of rent since 2004.

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