Scout leader pleads guilty in ID theft

[Ban Hammer 14,288]

PENSACOLA, Fla. - A former Girl Scout leader pleaded guilty Wednesday to stealing her Scouts' identities in order to obtain $87,000 in illegal tax refunds.

Holly M. Barnes, 33, entered pleas to 19 counts of making false tax refund claims to the Internal Revenue Service and 15 counts of identity theft before U.S. District Judge Casey Rodgers.

Barnes, who is being held in jail, could face a maximum of 230 years in prison on those charges and an unrelated shoplifting count when sentenced. Her lawyer did not immediately return a telephone message seeking comment.

Barnes admitted asking parents of the girls in her troop to provide their children's Social Security numbers for a fake medical release she claimed was required to take trips.

She then electronically filed false tax returns that included Social Security numbers of 15 Scouts and her own four children to obtain refunds.

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[yassmine2878 1]

Oh lets see, now we have our Idenity Theft and Embezzlement badges! Ooooh I cant wait to earn my Tax Evasion badge next!

[JODO 2]

Stealing from children, just great Looks like they need to do better background checks.

[Jaseball 0]

What's sad is she is facing that long jail term because she defrauded the government/IRS. If she just stole the identities, took out loans, got fake credit cards, and other ID theft ####### she'd face like 1 year or so.

Only 1 in 700 ID theft thieves are caught and the 'pro,' thieves screw over the credit and financial lives of many, many people.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

230 years... I don't condone what she did but wow...

Even Al Capone got less than that.

[Fandango 1,440]

Identity theft, tax fraud, shoplifting....whoa, Girl Scouts need to screen their peeps better

[Sister Fracas 5]

What's sad is she is facing that long jail term because she defrauded the government/IRS. If she just stole the identities, took out loans, got fake credit cards, and other ID theft ####### she'd face like 1 year or so.

that's f'd up!

[Jasman0717 9]

Geeze, if you can't trust scouts who can you trust