Utah Attorney General Won't Investigate ID Theft, Public Benefit Fraud On "List"

The Utah Attorney General (Mark Shurtleff) was interviewed about a leaked list that purported to contain illegal immigrants who had used stolen social security numbers to obtain tax-funded benefits limited to citizens and, possibly, legal immigrants.

The public benefits accessed were not specifically identified by the leaker(s) but the letter (http://media.bonnint.net/slc/2216/221697/22169741.pdf) accompanying the list included "entering our public welfare buildings" and the list included pregnancy status information. That may also indicate welfare fraud but there is no way to be certain as it appears that the investigation will only focus on the leakers and not also extend to those who used fraudulent information. While the AG's office does also investigate federal crimes, this one appears to be given a pass.

Besides financial impacts on victims, it is also noteworthy that if medical benefits were gained under a stolen identity, the victim may have had their medical records corrupted, leaving potential life-threatening consequences.

This report was aired on KUTV2 (connect2utah.com) in January, 2011 but no written article is available on the website.

*Note: There is a right way and a wrong way to bring these types of crimes to public attention. Unfortunately, those leaking the list did not go about it appropriately. Any well intentioned whistle-blower should take note (don't break laws to get the message out).