A 41-year old Louisiana woman with a history of identity theft is facing 10 years in prison after she was found guilty of copying a resume off LinkedIn to land a six-figure job as a human resources manager.
Cindy T. White located a woman on LinkedIn with a similar name and impressive work history and educational accomplishments, including a bachelor’s degree from Tulane University and a master’s from Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
After copying the woman’s resume and obtaining her drivers license and Social Security numbers, White presented the information as her own while applying for an executive level job with Diversified Foods and Seasonings.
White was hired in September 2015 as a human resources manager at $95,000 a year, and was promoted just five months later to a $105,000 position as senior human resources director.
But problems began to appear when the company realized she was having trouble with tasks within the educational level and experience listed on her resume, and was found to be delegating much of her work. When executives began investigating they soon discovered White wasn’t who she claimed to be.
And this wasn’t the first time. Back in 1997, while working for the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, White was accused of stealing a co-worker’s identity and emptying the victim’s bank account. She plead guilty to two counts of forgery and was placed on probation, but court records reveal that her probation ended two years later when the court received information that White was deceased. White also plead guilty to attempted theft of goods in December 1998.
Of her scheme at Diversified Foods and Seasoning, the jury deliberated a mere 15 minutes before returning a guilty verdict against White.
