It Sucks To Get Old

Police say woman stole patients’ IDs

January 4, 2007

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Lakeland, South Carolina, Index-Journal staff writer

An arrest has been made in an identity theft case involving a contract nurse at Self Regional Healthcare.
Dianna Johnson, 55, of Savannah, Ga., was arrested by the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office and charged with four counts of financial identity fraud….

Johnson is accused of taking the personal information— name, Social Security number, etc.— of Self Regional patients from their patient information sheets and using it to apply for credit cards. Authorities allege she took the credit cards and spent the maximum amount allowed before disposing of the card. She, of course, did not pay the accompanying bills, they say.

“Many of these patients were very elderly,” said Chief Deputy Mike Frederick. “They were the type of people who weren’t going to be checking their credit reports or applying for a credit card. It was a highly unethical situation.”

Johnson worked for Self as a contract nurse, a type of temporary work in which she would travel around and work at different hospitals for short periods of time….

Frederick said Johnson has been participating in financial fraud for more than 10 years in five states around the Southeast. He indicated the case is likely to be worked in conjunction with the Secret Service because of the long amount of time Johnson’s alleged crimes have gone on.

GCSO investigator Wayne Findley expounded on Secret Service involvement. “Johnson traveled extensively through the southern United States as part of her contract employment,” Findley said. “So we’re coordinating with the U.S. Secret Service now to ensure all these cases get wrapped up.”

Frederick said Johnson’s personal computer is likely to contain a treasure trove of evidence against her.
“She indicated to us that she had a computer which contained a large amount of evidence dating back nearly 10 years,” Frederick said….

Lakeland Index-Journal