Jacksonville Woman Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Defraud the United States and Aggravated Identity Theft

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Laura Butler (40, Jacksonville) has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of aggravated identity theft. She faces a maximum penalty of seven years in federal prison, with a two-year mandatory minimum term of imprisonment.

Butler was indicted on September 10, 2014. Her co-defendant, Cherica Daniels, pleaded guilty to the same charges on February 25, 2015.

According to the plea agreement, Butler worked at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida in 2011, where she had access to subscribers’ personal identifying information.  During her employment, she accessed several subscribers’ identities and later used them to complete false and fraudulent federal income tax returns.         

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelly S. Karase.