Freeport woman pleads guilty for hundreds of identity thefts

The Freeport woman, Seerojnie Ram, (Seerojnie Mohan), 49, who stole the identities of hundreds of people across 31 states pled guilty on Thursday before Judge Robert Bogle to a felony scheme to defraud in the first degree.

She is due back in court September 18 with her sentence expected to be one and half to three years in prison. Additionally, Ram has agreed to pay $52,498 to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance for state tax refunds she fraudulently received and sign a $32,468 confession of judgment to the Internal Revenue Service for federal tax refunds she fraudulently received.

Between Oct. 1, 2013 and May 13, 2015, Ram submitted more than 200 personal income tax returns for the tax years of 2013 and 2014 electronically to the Internal Revenue Service and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.

“Working with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the IRS, and the State Department of Tax and Finance, we followed the money back to this defendant and now she will be held accountable for this massive fraud,” said Nassau County District Attorney, Madeline Singas. “Any scammer trying to steal identities in our communities should be on notice that your crimes leave a digital and paper trail that we will follow to bring you to justice.”

According to the district attorney’s office, Ram obtained identities as a part of her scheme — including identities of disabled and deceased people. She then filed forged US Postal Service change of address forms or IRS change of address forms in order to change the addresses of individuals to addresses under her control. She used names and social security numbers of approximately 250 people without their permission, authority or knowledge to file fraudulent tax returns and stole thousands of dollars in income tax refunds from the Internal Revenue Service and New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. To accept direct deposit of refunds from the IRS, Ram set up Green Dot pre-paid credit card accounts in several states, including New York.

Spending the money on trips to Atlantic City, on cruises, pay the lease on her 2015 BMW X6 and to embellish her home, Ram often paid with postal money orders to cover her money flow. In 2015, Ram filed for bankruptcy in 2015 and received Medicaid benefits, despite hundreds of thousands of dollars of money being moved through her accounts.

Inspectors with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service discovered the scheme when it became known that mail in the name of many different individuals was being sent to the same address. The USPS then referred the case to the district attorney’s office for investigation. DA investigators and US Postal Inspectors investigated the case, with assistance by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.

Assistant District Attorney Connie Gentile, Chief of the Public Assistance Frauds Unit, and Senior Assistant District Attorney Betty Rodriguez of DA Singas’ Economic Crimes Bureau are prosecuting this case. Ram is represented by Stacy Eves, Esq.