Federal officials are investigating two women for stealing the identities of four patients at Yale-New Haven (Conn.) Hospital, NBC Connecticut reports. One of the women worked at the hospital as a patient companion.
One victim of the identity theft who was being hospitalized for a brain injury told NBC she felt the two companions, or "sitters," were targeting patients they thought would die in the hospital. According to the court filings, the two sitters would change their alleged victims' addresses, then monitor their mail to gain access to their financial information, ultimately opening credit cards in the patients' names.
According to NBC, in one instance, one of the alleged identity thieves made themselves the beneficiary of a $50,000 life insurance policy for an individual hospitalized for behavioral health reasons.
One of the women faces bank fraud and aggravated identity theft charges, while the other faces a charge of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, according to the filing. Hospital officials told NBC they are cooperating with the U.S. Attorney's office and federal investigators and that the woman who worked as a companion is no longer employed at Yale-New Haven.