Blunt, Nixon argue about arrest in identity theft scheme

Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A day after a stolen identity scheme was publicly announced, the governor's and attorney general's offices exchanged blame about an attempt to arrest a former state employee at a state office.

A federal indictment handed down May 31 -- but not publicly released until Wednesday -- accuses seven people of using Social Security numbers, names and birth dates to set up cell phone and landline phone service to help prisoners make calls through the accounts. Those accounts allegedly racked up more than $80,000 in charges before they were shut down for nonpayment.

A spokesman for Attorney General Jay Nixon said Thursday that investigators are still trying to determine how many identities might have been stolen.

The arrest of one former state employee, Robin Lynette Deardorff, 29, of Kansas City, prompted Gov. Matt Blunt's chief of staff to question an attempt to lure Deardorff back to a state facility at which she had worked for three months. Federal and state officials planned to arrest her there.

Chief of Staff Ed Martin, in a letter to Nixon, said the behavior of state investigators was "unprofessional."

"Again, Mr. Nixon, I am directing you to not have your agents arrive in the departments without notifying the director (or me) beforehand," Martin wrote.

Holste said the arrest was coordinated nine days in advance with the Department of Social Services. Spokesman Scott Holste said the former employee was eventually arrested at her home after department officials refused to help lure her to the facility.

"This letter is very full of inaccuracies and certainly the only thing one can conclude is that it's an effort by the administration to deflect attention that this woman had worked for the administration," Holste said.

Nixon, a Democrat, is running for governor in 2008. Blunt, a Republican, is expected to seek re-election.

Deardorff, who has a criminal record, worked in the Family Support Division in the Department of Social Services from March 1 to June 11. She stopped working for the department on Monday. Prosecutors allege that Deardorff was recruited by her then-boyfriend, Clayton J. Deardorff -- whom she later married -- to steal personal information from residents at the nursing home where she had worked.

A spokeswoman for the Social Services Department would not say whether Robin Deardorff had left voluntarily. Spokeswoman Sara Anderson said background checks are performed on all employees but those who don't have direct contact with the public are not screened until after they have been hired.

Anderson said it generally takes a month for background checks for employees who don't have direct contact and 8-12 weeks for employees who do.

According to the indictment, two former Department of Revenue employees also helped take personal information. That information was then allegedly given to Deardorff, who used it to set up phone accounts with the help of phone company employees.

Prosecutors allege that Krystal G. Stephens, 21, and Erica Daniece Kelley, 28, both of Jefferson City, gave personal information to others in the scheme.

Attempts to contact all seven defendants were unsuccessful. Most had unlisted phone numbers.

Stephens worked in a temporary job with the Department of Revenue to assist with tax filings from 2003 through 2005, and Kelley worked in the department's Motor Vehicle Bureau from 1998 through 2003.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Revenue said Thursday that Kelley was asked to resign as part of an internal investigation related to the alleged scheme in 2003.