Nakeshia Brown, aka Nakeshia Green, 30, of Rosenberg, has been convicted of bank fraud and aggravated identity theft arising from the theft of personal identifying information from the medical records of patients admitted to a Houston area hospital, United States Attorney Tim Johnson announced today.
At a hearing today before United States District Judge David Hittner, Brown, who worked as a patient care assistant at Memorial Hermann Hospital at the time of the charged offense, admitted she stole the “face sheet” printout containing the name, date of birth, Social Security number, address, employment information and other personal identifiers from a deceased patient’s medical records in February 2009. She then used the information to apply for a Target credit card on March 15, 2009. An investigation was initiated by the United States Secret Service (USSS) shortly thereafter after the patient’s widow notified the Social Security Administration about the credit card application. That investigation showed the credit card application was received online from an internet protocol address associated with Brown. The application listed Brown’s home address. When USSS agents confronted Brown about the application using the deceased patient’s information, Brown confessed to having stolen the patient’s personal identification information and using that information to apply for the Target credit card.
The statutory maximum punishment for a bank fraud conviction is 30 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $1 million as well as restitution if applicable. The aggravated identity theft conviction carries a two-year sentence to be served consecutive to any sentence imposed for the bank fraud conviction.
Brown’s bond was revoked immediately following her conviction and she has been ordered into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending her Nov. 5, 2009, sentencing date.
This case was investigated by special agents from the United States Secret Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay Hileman.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office
Note: This incident was first reported on this site in May 2009 in Bits ‘n Pieces.