Two former employees of a North Carolina restaurant are accusing the eatery of allowing illegal migrants to use their Social Security numbers and personal information to work at the place after they had quit.
Evan Donovan, one of the former workers, said when he began looking over his records to prepare his taxes, he found a W2 form claiming he earned an additional $20,000 at the restaurant after he had quit, according to WSOC-TV.
Donovan went to the police in February to report that his personal info was illegally used by someone else working at the Firebirds Wood Fired Grill in Huntersville for months after he had quit working at the place in July of last year.
This was only the first employee who had personal info stolen by an illegal migrant working at Firebirds. A woman who worked at the restaurant from January to November of 2025 said that when she went into the eatery’s employee computer system, she “observed there was a current employee using her name and Social Security number to be employed there.”
Both employees also noted that despite using their Social Security numbers, other information was changed to someone else’s contacts, including names, addresses, and bank info.
Firebrands, which has dozens of locations across the central and eastern United States as well as Arizona, would not respond to questions on the case.
“We are aware of an investigation by the Huntersville Police Department. The Company is cooperating with local law enforcement in its investigation. Given the ongoing nature of the investigation, we are unable to comment further,” the company said in a statement to the press.
Adelana Martinez, with Aplus 08 Bookkeeping and Tax Services, told the station that anyone who suspects their personal information has been stolen should file a police report and fill out Form 14039, which alerts the IRS that Social Security information is being used illegally.
Experts also urge people who think their Social Security number is being used illegally to immediately call their credit card companies and banks to freeze their accounts and to investigate any false expenditures. Victims should register with credit services Experian, TransAmerica, and Equifax and freeze their credit histories with those services while the issue is sorted out.
The federal government has a theft reporting website called IdentityTheft.gov, where victims can report the theft and begin the process of clearing up their records.
But experts also warn that victims of stolen identities will initially be expected to pay any tax consequences if they do not clear up their tax and credit histories.
The problem is widespread. Billions had their Social Security info stolen by hackers back in 2024 when a member of the hacking group USDoD, identified only as Felice, claimed to have released the personal records of approximately 2.7 billion Americans and others with Social Security records.
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