Matt Fahr reports that two people accused of participating in an identification theft scam involving 1,400 patients of Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital and DMC Harper Hospital in Detroit are in the process of taking plea deals.
Martez Lear, 29 of Farmington Hills and Markitta Washington, 29 of Hampton, Georgia and formerly of Farmington Hills, were indicted in October 2014 on identity theft charges spanning three years from 2011 through 2014. Lear entered a plea agreement Wednesday, and court officials said Washington is working toward a plea.
Washington, who worked for Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital and DMC Harper Hospital in Detroit, is accused of using personal identifying information obtained from patient records to file false tax returns in other people’s names. Personal information belonging to about 1,400 people was recovered during a search of a residence Washington and Lear shared, including names, dates of birth and social security numbers. Bank account information, credit cards and stacks of hospital records were also discovered during the search.
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