STOP THE INVASION

When Jason Smith contacted the Internal Revenue Service to find out why
his $600 tax refund hadn't arrived, he received a nasty surprise: The
government was waiting for him to pony up $12,000 in back taxes.

As it turned out, the Danielsville, Ga., man was not to blame. Another
"Jason Smith" racked up the unpaid taxes. An illegal immigrant named
Nohe Gomez Hernandez had used Smith's Social Security number to get a
job at a chicken plant in Bethlehem, Ga., and worked there under that
false name for at least three years, long enough to be promoted from
line worker to supervisor.

Awful enough, right? But wait 'til you hear what Hernandez's lawyer is
arguing:

Defense attorney Jana Whaley of Royston, Ga., contends that Hernandez'
actions aren't covered by the state law, which was created to keep
people from stealing others' personal information and using it to
pillage bank accounts or run up credit card bills.

Hernandez used Smith's name and Social Security number solely to get a
job for his family and never tried to interfere with Smith's credit or
accounts, Whaley said.

Yes. You read that right. His attorney had the gall to state that
because Hernandez used the stolen social security number of Jason Smith
to work, not run up credit card bills, he hasn't committed identity
theft.

However...

After the IRS told Smith that he owed the government thousands in back
taxes, he requested his work history from the federal agency. It said
that Smith, who works in a commissary at the Navy School in Athens,
Ga., was also working at Harrison Poultry, about 20 miles away in
Bethlehem, Ga.

The IRS said Smith owed back taxes because the two full-time jobs under
his name forced him into a higher tax bracket, said District Attorney
Robert Lavender.

So this poor guy's taxes were screwed up because Hernandez stole his
social security number. That was no accident. Smith is going through
this whole ordeal because Hernandez stole his social security number
and, therefore, his identity.

Hernandez "was known by his employer as Jason Smith and even had the
nerve to meet with law enforcement in a smock that had the name 'Jason'
sewn on. No doubt, the appellant intended to assume the identity of the
victim," Assistant District Attorney James Webb wrote in a court brief.