LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A 23-year-old Lincoln woman who misused personal financial information from a student lender’s database has been given a year and a day in prison.
A news release from the office of U.S. Attorney Deborah Gilg says Jovita Benford was sentenced on Wednesday for unauthorized computer access. She must serve three years of supervised release when she leaves prison.
Federal prosecutors say Benford was working for the Lincoln-based student lender Nelnet when she accessed a database in October 2010 to help a borrower with his student loans. She copied his name and date of birth and those of other borrowers, then used them to try to borrow money online. She wasn’t successful.
In an unrelated state case, Benford was sentenced in November to 18 to 36 months for theft and criminal impersonation.