INDIANAPOLIS, IND. (WTWO/WAWV) — A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Rochelle Perry, 49, of Indianapolis, Indiana, with five counts of Social Security number fraud, three counts of aggravated identity theft, and one count of Social Security disability benefits fraud.

Perry submitted five fraudulent applications for employment to Indianapolis area nursing homes and assisted living facilities from the timeframe of February 26, 2020, to March 23, 2022. She was using a stolen Social Security number on all of these applications so that she could work and still receive benefits of not being employed. She also knew she may not be able to pass a standard background check if her true SSN was used.

In some of these applications, Perry used a stolen Licensed Practical Nurse (“LPN”) license number in order to make employers think she was able to work in that desired position even though she has never had any nursing licenses in the state of Indiana.

Between the dates of December 3, 2019, and December 2, 2022, Perry received approximately $54,991.30 in Social Security disability benefits under her actual Social Security number. She submitted two separate reports in 2021 and 2022 that stated that she had not earned any income since May of 2019.

The FBI, Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Indiana Attorney General’s Office, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and IMPD investigated this case. If convicted on all counts, Rochelle faces up to 5 years in federal prison. After considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other relevant factors, a judge will have the final say in the official sentence.