Northwestern hospital worker charged with stealing patients’ identities
Sun-Times Media Wire May 14, 2012 8:10PM
A Northwestern Memorial Hospital employee has been charged with stealing the identity of patients to pay off her personal bills.
Shatina Golden, 35, of south suburban Matteson, was charged Monday with one count each of aggravated identity theft and identity theft, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office. Golden had worked at the hospital the past four years.
Last week, police executed a search warrant at Godlen’s home and found paperwork with the personal information of more than 50 Northwestern patients, a release from the state’s attorneys office said. The paperwork included birthdates, Social Security numbers and credit card numbers.
Matteson police began investigating when village officials noticed suspicious credit card activity connected with payments from Golden’s water bill, the release said. Authorities noticed several unusual credit card charges and obtained computer records showing the payments were made from her home or Northwestern Memorial.
The credit card companies told Matteson police all the cards had recently been used at Northwestern’s Spectrasol Laboratory, the release said. Investigators found all the victims — including some being treated for cancer — had been to the hospital and had electric, gas or phone accounts opened in their names.
If convicted, Golden could be sentenced to seven years in prison, the release said.
