Feds: IRS clerk stole her landlord’s identity

A former IRS employee who allegedly used her position to steal her landlord's identity faces up to 46 years in prison and a fine of $1.2 million following her indictment on charges of identity theft.

Domeen Flowers, 48, was hired as a mail room clerk in 2007 at the Internal Revenue Service's offices in Philadelphia. In June 2009, the Kensington woman used IRS computers to get information that allowed her to apply for credit cards under her landlord's name, prosecutors said. When she attempted to use one of the cards to pay a $1000 gas bill, the company put a hold on the account. Using IRS letterhead, Flowers allegedly threatened her landlord with an audit unless she faxed copies her driver's license and Social Security card to a machine at the IRS which Flowers could access.

Investigators from the Treasury Inspector General's office eventually caught wind of the scheme. Flowers was arrested Thursday in Maitland, Florida. A preliminary hearing was held in Orlando and Flowers was released on bail pending an appearance in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia.