A former employee at Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital has been indicted on charges of identity theft and tax refund fraud, reports The Tampa Tribune.
The employee, Shakania Benton, was the unit coordinator for Tampa General's main operating room, but was fired in August 2014 when documents containing patient data were found during a traffic stop. Ms. Benton allegedly used that patient information to commit tax refund fraud, receiving approximately $17,000 in fraudulent refunds.
This week, Ms. Benton was charged with wire fraud, theft of government property, aggravated identity theft and wrongful disclosure of health information, according to the report.
John Dunn, a hospital spokesman, said the hospital does not know the exact number of patients whose information was compromised, but by assessing how many patients' information she would have access to throughout her tenure at the hospital, it estimates approximately 675 individuals.
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