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Former Tampa police informer pleads guilty in tax fraud case

 
Rita Girven was a longtime Tampa police informer. She now faces up to 20 years in prison.
Rita Girven was a longtime Tampa police informer. She now faces up to 20 years in prison.
Published March 17, 2015

TAMPA — Longtime Tampa police confidential informer Rita Girven pleaded guilty Monday to two federal charges relating to $33,002 in stolen identity tax refund fraud.

Girven signed a plea agreement in February admitting that she obtained personal identities from genealogy websites and "one or more conspirators who had access to law enforcement databases."

The case against Girven is part of a larger investigation that has targeted, among others, former Tampa police Detective Eric Houston, who was fired from his job but has not been charged.

A federal search warrant made public last spring suggested that the state's Driver and Vehicle Information Database may have been raided for identity theft.

From 2009 to 2013, Girven conspired to use stolen identities to fraudulently obtain tax refunds, including some that were wired from the Internal Revenue Service onto debit cards in her name, she acknowledged Monday.

The refunds ranged from $1,380 to $9,615.

Girven faces as long as 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, followed by a two-year mandatory sentence for aggravated identity theft.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth A. Jenkins ordered Girven to remain on monitored house arrest until her sentencing, which has not been scheduled, and required that she post a $25,000 personal signature bond.

The judge told Girven she couldn't have possession of identification belonging to anyone other than herself or her children.