Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for False Representation of a Social Security Number

LAFAYETTE, La. - United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that Sommers N. Robertson, 45, of Lafayette, Louisiana, has been sentenced by United States District Judge Robert R. Summerhays to 21 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for False Representation of a Social Security Number.

According to information presented in court, on October 12, 2022, law enforcement officers encountered Robertson after receiving a complaint that she had leased an apartment under fraudulent pretenses. During a subsequent records check, the officers discovered the existence of active warrants for Robertson's arrest, and she was arrested. During her arrest, officers observed and seized identity documents from the apartment which included driver's licenses, state identification cards, Social Security Number cards, along with other documents displaying personally identifiable information belonging to other people. One of the Social Security Number cards showed the name of an individual with the initials M.F.M. which had been issued on September 8, 2022.

Further investigation by law enforcement agents and those with the Social Security Administration's Office of Inspector General revealed that Robertson went to the Social Security Administration ("SSA") Field Office in Opelousas, Louisiana, on September 8, 2022. At that time, she met with an SSA service representative and claimed that she was the individual with the initials of M.F.M., and she requested that a new Social Security Number card be issued to her. Robertson represented to the SSA representative that she was in fact the individual with the initials M.F.M. and provided the representative with false documentation, including a driver's license in the name of M.F.M. which had been issued by another state, along with their place of birth, parents' names, and Social Security Number. Because of these false representations, the SSA issued a Social Security Number card to an address provided by Robertson.

Robertson pleaded guilty on May 30, 2024, and admitted that she knowingly provided the Social Security Administration with false documents and purported to be an individual she was not in order to obtain a Social Security Number card with the intent to deceive.

The case was investigated by Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Danny Siefker.

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