By Will James
HAUPPAUGE, N.Y.—A former supervisor at a Long Island brain injury treatment center stole the identities of dozens of patients and used them to file false tax returns that netted him $200,000 in refunds, prosecutors said Monday.
Benjamin Achampong, 30 years old, was until 2006 a supervisor at the Long Island Head Injury Association, a nonprofit in Commack, N.Y., providing housing, treatment and other services for those who have suffered head injuries from auto and bicycle accidents, guns, child abuse or alcohol use.
Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota said Achampong used his position to steal identification information from 56 patients’ files. In 2006 and 2007, he then used their identities to electronically file false tax returns in New York, New Jersey and with the federal government, Spota said.
Spota called Achampong a “shameless, incorrigible thief who has absolutely no moral standards whatsoever.”
Achampong pleaded not guilty on Friday to a 48-count indictment accusing him of grand larceny, identity theft, filing false tax returns and other charges. He faces a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison, prosecutors said.
After a 14-month probe, Achampong was discovered in Georgia, where he was in custody on identity theft charges in a separate investigation. He is also facing identity theft charges in Delaware. He pleaded guilty in 2009 to stealing the identity of a dead former patient of another Long Island residential treatment facility, where he worked, prosecutors said.
Defense attorney Michael Alber said he wants more information from prosecutors.
The Head Injury Association said in a statement that it fully cooperated with the probe and is “appalled by the possible victimization of our clients by this former employee.”
Andy Kraus, a spokesman for the association, declined to say whether Achampong’s departure had anything to do with the allegedly stolen identities.
Achampong was being held until he could post a $50,000 cash bail or a $100,000 bond
HAUPPAUGE, N.Y.—A former supervisor at a Long Island brain injury treatment center stole the identities of dozens of patients and used them to file false tax returns that netted him $200,000 in refunds, prosecutors said Monday.
Benjamin Achampong, 30 years old, was until 2006 a supervisor at the Long Island Head Injury Association, a nonprofit in Commack, N.Y., providing housing, treatment and other services for those who have suffered head injuries from auto and bicycle accidents, guns, child abuse or alcohol use.
Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota said Achampong used his position to steal identification information from 56 patients’ files. In 2006 and 2007, he then used their identities to electronically file false tax returns in New York, New Jersey and with the federal government, Spota said.
Spota called Achampong a “shameless, incorrigible thief who has absolutely no moral standards whatsoever.”
Achampong pleaded not guilty on Friday to a 48-count indictment accusing him of grand larceny, identity theft, filing false tax returns and other charges. He faces a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison, prosecutors said.
After a 14-month probe, Achampong was discovered in Georgia, where he was in custody on identity theft charges in a separate investigation. He is also facing identity theft charges in Delaware. He pleaded guilty in 2009 to stealing the identity of a dead former patient of another Long Island residential treatment facility, where he worked, prosecutors said.
Defense attorney Michael Alber said he wants more information from prosecutors.
The Head Injury Association said in a statement that it fully cooperated with the probe and is “appalled by the possible victimization of our clients by this former employee.”
Andy Kraus, a spokesman for the association, declined to say whether Achampong’s departure had anything to do with the allegedly stolen identities.
Achampong was being held until he could post a $50,000 cash bail or a $100,000 bond
Richard Figley
Independent Associate
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