Galesburg woman charged with ID theft and fraud tied to pandemic benefits

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A 57-year-old Galesburg woman is facing multiple counts of theft and identity theft in what authorities say might be part of a much larger network of criminal enterprise.

Diane J. Wall has been charged with 10 separate counts of identity theft, the most serious being two Class X charges exceeding $100,000.

The most serious charges could land Wall a sentence between 6 to 30 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

An investigation involving the Knox County State’s Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Inspector General began in June of 2021 when authorities noticed a significant amount of unemployment benefits were being mailed to a Galesburg address.

Prosecutors say that address was collecting U.S. Pandemic unemployment benefits from several states across the country, including Illinois, Nevada, California and Maryland.

The initial theft amount was believed to be $529,000 according to one sourced banking institution.

Authorities also found information that indicated the benefit accounts were being dispersed via mailed prepaid cards with funds being withdrawn primarily in the Galesburg area.

Further investigation showed Wall possessed a  significant amount of identity paperwork, US government-funded debit cards, and ledger data reasonably indicating “organized thorough bookkeeping procedures.”

The collected evidence also indicated the total theft amount was significantly higher than the initial single-sourced total of $529,000.

A bill of indictment for Wall was handed down on June 10th where her bond was set at $500,000.

A warrant for her arrest was executed last Wednesday and on Thursday, Wall made her first appearance in court via video from the Knox County Jail. That hearing was continued until Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.

 

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