WASHINGTON - A former D.C. Public School (DCPS) employee, Rashelle L. Henderson, 22, of District Heights, Maryland, and her friend and co-conspirator, Tashana E. Crews, 25, of Oxon Hill, Maryland, each were sentenced today in U.S. District Court to six months in jail, followed by thirty-six months of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor, Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Irvine, U.S. Secret Service, Washington Field Office, and Alexandria (VA) Chief of Police Department David P. Baker announced today.

In June 2008, the two defendants pled guilty to conspiracy to commit identity theft in U.S. District Court before the Honorable Emmet G. Sullivan. In addition to the six-month jail terms, Judge Sullivan also ordered that during the term of supervised release, each defendant must serve an additional six months in a residential re-entry center, pay restitution and perform 250 hours of community service.

According to the government's evidence presented at the prior guilty plea hearing, between April 2006 and March 2007, Henderson, who worked as a Program Support Specialist in DCPS's Office of Workforce and Professional Development, located at 215 G Street, NE, stole the personal identifiers of DCPS personnel or those applying to become DCPS personnel. Henderson sent the stolen information to her friend, Crews, through their email accounts. Henderson and Crews used the personal identifiers of these individuals to open lines of credit via the Internet. In total, Henderson and/or Crews successfully opened 30 lines of credit through which they obtained $40,000 in goods, services and U.S. currency through cash advances.

In announcing the sentences, U.S. Attorney Taylor, U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Irvine and Alexandria Police Department Chief Baker commended the investigatory work of U.S. Secret Service Special Agent Ellen J. Ripperger and Detective Charles Pak. They also praised Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan B. Menzer, who prosecuted the case.