Casey Murphy reports:
An employee of the Northeast Texas Public Health district was arrested earlier this month for allegedly stealing the identities of hundreds of patients at a Mount Pleasant clinic she worked for before moving to Tyler.
Selena Patino, 38, of Mount Pleasant, was arrested by the Titus County Sherriff’s Office on Jan. 4 and charged with fraudulent use or possession of identifying information, a second-degree felony, and credit card abuse, a state jail felony. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison for the second-degree felony and up to two years in a state jail facility for the state jail felony.
Ms. Patino worked in the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) Mount Pleasant clinic since 2008 before becoming employed by the Northeast Texas Public Health District, or NET Health, in October. She was terminated by NET Health on Jan. 3, and authorities do not believe any clients of the local facility were victims.
Read more on TylerPaper.com. A statement on the sheriff’s office web site, dated January 8, states:
During the first week of the new year, the Titus County Sheriff’s Office received multiple identity theft related complaints from citizens. During the investigation, investigators were led to a suspect by the name of Selena Patino. Patino was identified as a former Texas Department of Health and Human Service worker in Mt. Pleasant. Investigators determined that Patino had assumed the identity of clients receiving immunizations and other services at the Texas Department of Health and Human Services on N. Jefferson in Mt. Pleasant. Patino used this client information and applied for credit cards online and when approved made as many purchases as the credit card would allow. The list of individuals that had their information stolen is still growing and we believe it to be in the hundreds. If you have used the services of the office of the Texas Department of Health and Human Services in Mount Pleasant in the past few months you need to check your credit report. We are going to contact the Texas Department of Health with a list of clients that we know had their identity compromised and you should expect the Texas Department of Health to contact you.
On Friday, January 4th, 2012 a search and arrest warrant was issued for Selena Patino, age 38, and her residence located in the 4800 Block of FM 1735 Mount Pleasant, TX. Patino was arrested and charged with Fraudulent Use or Possession of Identifying information, a 2nd Degree Felony and Credit Card Abuse, a State Jail Felony. Some of the property that Selena Patino purchased with the credit cards was recovered along with stolen credit cards, immunization records and other documents with clients name (or family members name) and social security number were found.
An individual adjudged guilty of a felony of the second degree shall be punished by imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for any term of not more than 20 years or less than 2 years. In addition to imprisonment, an individual adjudged guilty may be punished by a fine not to exceed $10,000.