Authorities say a Utah state employee used state computers to steal identities, even applying for credit cards and then intercepting them at mailboxes outside the victims' homes.

Federal prosecutors filed a criminal complaint against Laura Bustamante, who worked at the Utah Department of Workforce Services.

An affidavit by a Secret Service agent says Bustamante took names, Social Security numbers, addresses and other personal information from a state database.

Informants told authorities that Bustamante shredded the information, burned it or flushed it down the toilet when she suspected that law enforcers were closing in.

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Federal prosecutors scheduled a Thursday afternoon news conference to discuss the case.

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