Hospital Employees Stole Patients' Identities: Officials

Memorial Healthcare System has fired two employees after officials say they stole identities of hospital patients in an attempt to use the information to file phony tax returns. Hospital spokeswoman Kerting Baldwin told the South Florida Sun Sentinel the former employees are under criminal investigation. She says Memorial sent letters Thursday to about 9,500 patients whose identities could have been exposed. “I mean imagine when you go to file your tax return and the IRS tells you we’re sorry, someone else has already filed it and collected your refund,” said US Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz at a news conference at the Broward Sheriff’s Office on Friday. The Congresswoman is sponsoring legislation called the STOP-IT Act, designed to increase penalties for criminals who use stolen identities to file tax returns.