WASHINGTON - Two individuals, including a former employee of the Library of Congress, have been charged in connection with a conspiracy to steal personal identity information of Library of Congress employees from the National Finance Center (NFC) database, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor announced today.

Labiska Gibbs, 35, of the 800 block of Barnaby Street, SE, Washington, D.C., has been charged in a four-count federal indictment with conspiracy, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and first degree fraud. The indictment was returned under seal on December 3, 2008, and unsealed yesterday following Gibbs's arraignment on the charges in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before U.S. Magistrate Judge John M. Facciola. Gibbs's next court appearance will be on December 16, 2008. If convicted of the charges, she faces a maximum possible sentence of 37 years of imprisonment. Under the federal sentencing guidelines, Gibbs would likely face a sentencing range of 81 to 95 months in prison.

A second individual, William Sinclair, Jr., 27, of the 4800 block C Street, SE, Washington, D.C., has also been charged in connection with his role in this identity theft scheme. In a one-count Information that was filed yesterday in the U.S. District for the District of Columbia, Sinclair is charged with Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud. A court date has not yet been set for Sinclair. If convicted of the charge, Sinclair faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison. Under the federal sentencing guidelines, Sinclair would likely face a sentencing range of 37 to 46 months in prison.

According to the charging documents, Sinclair was an employee in the Human Resources Department at the Library of Congress ("Library") beginning in February 2006. Sinclair was one of a few employees at the Library who had been authorized to use the NFC database – a large government database maintained by the Department of Agriculture that contains personal information for employees of numerous government agencies, including the Library.

Sinclair allegedly used his access to the database in April and May 2008 to obtain personal identity information, such as the name, date of birth, and Social Security Numbers, of at least ten Library employees. Sinclair then is alleged to have given that information to Gibbs who allegedly used those employees' identities to open bogus credit accounts over the internet at on-line credit agencies and at area retailers like Target, Victoria's Secret, Radio Shack, Circuit City, The Gap, and The Home Depot.

The indictment also alleges that Gibbs obtained false photo identification documents in the names of six of those employees. It is further alleged that Gibbs made some of the applications over the internet from a computer located inside of her own residence. In total, the fraud has caused losses to retailers and credit agencies of more than $38,000.

The indictment and information are merely formal charges that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.

In announcing the charges, U.S. Attorney Taylor commended the outstanding investigative work of Special Agents Donya M. Jackson, Hugh Coughlin, Pamela Hawe, and Kenneth R. Keeler of the Library of Congress Office of the Inspector General; Special Agent Kyo M. Dolan of the U.S. Secret Service; and Inspectors Julie Zachariadis and Tira Fowler of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Also praised was the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney John W. Borchert, who investigated this case, secured the indictment, and will prosecute the cases.