Former Government Employee Sentenced To Jail For Stealing Over $114,000 From Citizen’s Bank AccountDefendant Gained Access To Bank Information While Working At The D.C. Office Of Tax And Revenue

     WASHINGTON - Catyondia Ballard, 48, a former employee of the District of Columbia Office of Tax and Revenue, was sentenced today to 16 weekends in jail, to be followed by 180 days of home detention, for the theft of over $114,000 from the bank account of a retired military member, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and Blanche L. Bruce, Interim Inspector General for the District of Columbia.

     Ballard, of Bowie, Md., pled guilty in May 2014 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of wire fraud.  She was sentenced by the Honorable Judge Rudolph Contreras, who also ordered that she be placed on five years of probation. The judge also ordered Ballard to pay full restitution of $114,166 to the victim.

     According to the government’s evidence, Ballard became familiar with the victim through her job at the District of Columbia Office of Tax and Revenue. While there, Ballard gained access to the victim’s personal biographical information, as well as the victim’s bank account information.  Using the victim’s information, Ballard began wiring funds from the victim’s bank account directly to Ballard’s account at a loan servicing company in order to pay off Ballard’s mortgage.  From March 2007 through April 2010, Ballard directed a total of $114,166 of the victim’s funds to Ballard’s account without the victim’s permission. 

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen and Interim Inspector General Bruce commended the work of those who investigated the case from the District of Columbia’s Office of the Inspector General. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Donna Galindo, Corinne Kleinman, and Angela Lawrence; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard DiZinno, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.