Cops: Nurse stole patient info

An Albany Medical Center nurse stole personal identifying information of at least 100 patients in a sophisticated scheme to steal their financial identities, according to Albany County Sheriff’s Department officials.

The nurse, with the help of her boyfriend, used that information to secretly open credit card accounts and make purchases throughout the region, police said.

Authorities are still investigating the depth of the scheme, Sheriff Craig Apple said. The 100 names and identities come from handwritten lists and other non-digital information recovered at an Albany apartment.

Officials believe that the pair at least tried to open accounts with information of 60 of those names. Investigators are still trying to determine whether they tried or succeeded with the other 40.

“It’s sad,” Apple said. “A lot of these people that appear to be victims are elderly folks who probably had crystal clear, pristine credit and these two mess it up.”

Investigators have yet to delve into recovered laptop computers and fear more victims could be identified there.

“There could be dozens more,” Apple said Thursday.

Information taken is believed to have been limited to that needed to open financial accounts, officials said. There is no indication that clinical information was compromised.

Charged with multiple felonies are the nurse, Suzette M. Guzman-Moore, 45, and Emmett L. Woods, 25. Both lived at 9 Ten Broeck St. in Albany.

Both were arraigned this week in Albany City Court and ordered held without bail.

Though many of the victims appeared to be older, Apple said Guzman-Moore is believed to have targeted younger patients, as well.

Investigators are working to contact the individuals they know had information stolen, Apple said. They are asking the public to review their credit histories. Anyone who believes their identity was stolen as a result of a visit to a health care facility should contact the Albany County sheriff’s tip line at 720-8075.

Guzman-Moore worked at Albany Medical Center since 2010, hospital officials said. She was also working her way through further schooling to be a registered nurse, Apple said.

Albany Medical Center is cooperating fully with the investigation, Apple and hospital spokesman Jeffrey Gordon said.

“Protecting patient information is the medical center’s top priority,” Gordon said.

Apple said the hospital has been “very concerned and very forthcoming” with information. The sheriff also said guarding against such information theft, when the thief is an employee, can be difficult.

The investigation and search for potential victims is also going beyond Albany Medical Center, Apple said. Guzman-Moore was attending Maria College and was to graduate soon, Apple said. That schooling took her on rotations to other institutions, and officials are trying to get a full list of where she trained.

There is no indication Guzman-Moore rotated to Ellis Hospital in Schenectady, Apple said.

He added that investigators believe the chances are lower of thefts elsewhere, as she was under higher supervision as a student.

The scheme began to unravel in April, Apple said, when a woman reported that someone had used her information, including Social Security number, to open credit card accounts and make purchases. The woman also told investigators that the only place she had given out her social security number was Albany Medical Center, Apple said. She had had a minor examination there.

The investigation soon kicked into high gear as they received information about Woods, Apple said. Investigators watched him and kept him under surveillance. They soon found out he had a girlfriend living with him and that she worked at Albany Medical Center.

“We started putting the pieces together, that she was extracting information and giving it to him,” Apple said.

The two then used the information to apply for and open credit cards, he said. They then allegedly had those cards mailed to residences that they were familiar with.

The main thing they purchased, Apple said, was gift cards. Gift cards can quickly be turned into cash or other items. Exactly what the two were doing with the cards remains part of the investigation.

The two were also found in possession of forged payroll checks, including multiple checks purported to be from St. Peter’s Hospital and the Daughters of Sarah, police said.

During searches of three different residences Thursday, investigators recovered laptop computers, small phones, credit card statements, fraudulent credit card checks and blank check stock. Investigators are now trying to determine who was cashing the forged checks, officials said.

Woods and Guzman-Moore each face one count of fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, second-degree identity theft and first-degree scheme to defraud, all felonies. They each also face at least six counts of first-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument.

Categories: Schenectady County