Tampa Woman Charged With Access Device Fraud And Aggravated Identity Theft

Summary

A press release of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida, dated February 22, 2022, announcing the return of an indictment charging Rolanda Wingfield (39, Tampa) with two counts of access device fraud, one count of possession of 15 or more unauthorized access devices, and two counts of aggravated identity theft. According to the indictment, between May and July 2020 Wingfield submitted, or caused to be submitted, false unemployment insurance claims to various state workforce agencies using personal identifying information of other persons. The indictment states that Wingfield used the resulting debit cards to withdraw money from ATMs and that on July 28, 2020 Wingfield was found in possession of 15 unauthorized access devices. The release notes that an indictment is merely a formal charge.

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“Tampa Woman Charged With Access Device Fraud And Aggravated Identity Theft.” Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2022-03-02-tampa-woman-charged-with-access-device-fraud-and-aggravated-f26e9cbb30/, SHA-256 e736ada5ef51b77faa9605973ce4e3b230ca7bfa1d5693c26560db7e1fcf6791.

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                                      Department of Justice
                                        U.S. Attorney’s Office
                                      Middle District of Florida


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                   Tuesday, February 22, 2022

  Tampa Woman Charged With Access Device Fraud And
Aggravated Identity Theft Related To COVID Unemployment
                    Insurance Benefits
Tampa, Florida –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment
charging Rolanda Wingfield (39, Tampa) with two counts of access device fraud, one count of
possession of 15 or more unauthorized access devices, and two counts of aggravated identity theft. If
convicted, Wingfield faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison for each of the access
device offenses, as well as a consecutive two years in federal prison for the aggravated identity
offenses. The indictment also notifies Wingfield that the United States intends to forfeit any
proceeds, which are alleged to be traceable to the offense.

According to the indictment, between May and July 2020, Wingfield obtained personal identifying
information of other persons and submitted, or caused to be submitted, false and fraudulent
unemployment insurance (UI) claims to various state workforce agencies for UI benefits. These UI
benefits were then transferred to bank accounts or loaded onto debits cards issued in the names of
other persons. Wingfield then used, and attempted to use, the fraudulently obtained debit cards to
withdraw money from ATMs. On July 28, 2020, Wingfield was found to be in possession of 15
unauthorized access devices, specifically Social Security numbers of other individuals.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of
federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

In March 2020, the President signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and the
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, which expanded states’ ability to provide UI for
many workers impacted by COVID-19, including for workers who were not ordinarily eligible for
benefits.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to
marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government
to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to
investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists
agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods,
augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and
techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information
and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s
response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by
calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-
5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-
disaster-complaint-form.
This case was investigated by the Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General and the
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys
Gregory D. Pizzo and John Cannizzaro.
Attachment(s):                                         Financial Fraud
Download Indictment                                    Identity Theft
Topic(s):                                              Component(s):
Coronavirus                                            USAO - Florida, Middle
Disaster Fraud

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