Broward Teachers' Personal Information Stolen
A Broward School District employee is facing federal charges tonight in a "massive" identity theft ring that stole more than $1.2 million dollars.
Jasmin Rembert -- who worked in the teacher certification department at the district-- had access to the personal information of teachers in the district and throughout the state of Florida.
The feds accuse Rembert of selling some of that information -- including social security numbers, names, birth dates, etc -- to a group of identity thieves. On two occasions -- at the end of 2010 -- the feds say Rembert went into her office and accessed files with personal info of teachers and handed that information over to a man named DeMarcus Hough.
The feds say Rembert was paid to divulge the information. They do not say how much, however. Nor do the feds say how many teachers had their information compromised.
The feds say 12 people took part in the scheme -- including two medical office assistants. One worked at a medical office in Coral Springs; the other at a medical office in Fort Lauderdale. They are accused of selling the personal information found in "multiple patient files."
The allegations are that the group would use the stolen information to list themselves as "authorized users" on the victim's credit and bank accounts. They would get credit cards and checks sent to them and the spending spree would begin.
Rembert faces two charges -- conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to commit identity theft. If convicted, she faces a maximum of 35 years in prison and a $1.25 million fine.
