Former police employee gets 2 years for ID theft, fraud

TAMPA, Fla. — A former Tampa police employee has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for stealing identities from law enforcement databases and conspiring to use information to commit tax refund fraud.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Tampa reported Tuesday that 53-year-old Tonia Bright must also forfeit $29,057 and pay restitution totaling $166,026.

Bright worked as a civilian employee for more than three decades.

Court documents said that between 2009 and 2014, Bright provided names, birth dates and Social Security numbers on at least 10 occasions to Rita Girven, a former Tampa police informer with theft and fraud convictions on her record.

Girven used the information to file fraudulent federal income tax returns and collect refunds.

Girven pleaded guilty to charges last year and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Associated Press