Local

Maitland IRS employee accused of stealing taxpayers' identities

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — An Internal Revenue Service employee who works at a field office in Maitland is accused of using her position to steal the identities of people who filed tax returns.

Federal investigators said Domeen Flowers used those identities to apply for credit cards while she worked for the IRS in Pennsylvania and after she moved to Maitland.

Investigators said Flowers was hired by the IRS five years ago in Philadelphia, where she took information from a handful of people, including her landlord, and used the stolen information in the north and in Central Florida to apply for credit cards.

According to investigators, Flowers’ job with the IRS gave her computer access to taxpayers' personal information. However, the IRS won't say how many people may have had their information compromised.

When one of the credit card companies got suspicious, investigators said Flowers sent one of the victims a bogus letter in an official IRS envelope asking them to fax her more information.

An IRS spokesman said he couldn't give more specifics since it's an ongoing investigation. There's no word on how much money Flowers is suspected of charging on the fake credit cards.