Monday, March 5, 2012

Wausau Workers Get Double Whammy

More than 500 workers of the Schield plant in Mosinee were already victimized by Scott Walker's job creation plan by losing theirs.

Now some of those victims have been revictimized as their identities have been stolen, apparently through their former employer:
The lives of nearly 130 current and former employees of window and door manufacturing companies across Wisconsin are in disarray after a massive identity theft that most learned of when they filed their federal tax returns.

Local and federal authorities have spent more than a year investigating identity theft involving employees of Schield Family Brands, which includes window and door manufacturers Weather Shield in Medford and Mosinee-based companies Peachtree and SNE Enterprises.

Officials involved in the investigation are tight-lipped and haven't said who or what caused the security breach at Schield, much to the frustration of victims. Local police departments are forwarding identity theft reports to the Secret Service and the Internal Revenue Service for investigation and provide no updates on the case. Spokesmen for the two agencies said federal policy does not allow them to comment on an open investigation.

Calls to Schield were not returned.

"The company has not been very forthcoming with employees about a lot of things," said Lorraine Skerven, a former Weather Shield employee and identity theft victim. "They care more about their bottom line than anything."

The identity thefts come as a double blow to some employees who recently learned that the window company plans to close its Mosinee plant and slash more than 500 jobs.
It's hard enough for anyone not in the 1% to make a living in Fitzwalkerstan, but to have something like this happen is simply horrible. I hope these people are made whole again in the very near future.

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