Grand Jury Indicts Sewickley Woman for Identity Theft

A was indicted by a federal grand jury on a charge of identity theft, the U.S. attorney's office in Pittsburgh announced today.

Anastacia Benedict, 24, of Hill Street, Sewickley, was named as the sole defendant in the one-count indictment that was returned on Tuesday.

Benedict is accused of using personally identifiable information belonging to a customer around Nov. 2, 2011, in an attempt to commit credit card fraud, according to a news release.

She faces a maximum total sentence of five years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both.

Inspectors from the United States Postal Inspection Service along with agents from the United States Secret Service who as part of the Western Pennsylvania Financial Crimes Task Force conducted the investigation that led to the indictment in this case.

The Western Pennsylvania Financial Crimes Task Force (WPFCTF) was established in February 1995 as a collaborative, multi-agency effort to effectively combat financial crimes, including identity fraud, in Western Pennsylvania.