Thread: Hospital bill alerts woman to identity theft

Hospital bill alerts woman to identity theft

05:47 PM Mountain Standard Time on Monday, April 30, 2007

By Gary Harper / 3 On Your Side

It's no secret identity theft is a huge problem, particularly in Arizona.

But this story is truly hard to believe.

The victim in this case never knew she was a "victim" until she got a bill for $17,000.

That $17,000 was for hospital surgery -- surgery that the victim never had.

But the more I investigated this case, the more I learned that the judicial system just might not be working like you think it would be.

Julia Aragon.worked for years saving her money and building her credit so she could buy the perfect home.

"Credit is extremely important," Aragon said. "If you don't have good credit, you really can't get anywhere."

But now, Aragon fears her credit is in jeopardy and it's all because of a letter she received saying she owed St. Luke's Medical Center in Phoenix a whopping $17,000 for surgery.

However, Aragon claims she's never been to St. Luke's, much less had surgery.

She called St. Luke's Medical Center.

"It's your responsibility," Aragon said she was told. "You gave us your Social Security number and date of birth when you came in."

Aragon realized she was the victim of identify theft and contacted 3 On Your Side and the Phoenix Police Department for help.

Detectives wound up arresting Gladis Ramos, 33, who is in this country illegally.

Court documents reveal that she told police that for just $50, she bought Aragon's personal information like her Social Security number from someone standing outside a South Phoenix swap mart.

"She did tell us she is here illegally from Mexico and she bought the ID information so she could begin working," said Lt. Giles Tipsword with the Phoenix Police Department.

Ramos allegedly used Aragon's name along with her Social Security number and date of birth to get a job at a Phoenix warehouse and to blend in as a legal citizen.

But when Ramos was injured on the job recently, she was transported to St. Luke's Hospital where she underwent surgery using Aragon's personal information.

This is where that $17,000 hospital bill came from.

"I want this person caught and prosecuted for what she's done to me," Aragon said.

Phoenix police said they had everything they needed to arrest Ramos on a charge of "fraudulent schemes" after all, she reportedly admitted to everything.

So detectives picked her up and 3 On Your Side was there when she was taken in.

"The suspect has been booked under a felony charge," Tipsword said. "It will hopefully go to court. There is hopefully enough information to prosecute this lady."

But even with her confession, prosecutors said they didn't have enough evidence to prosecute Ramos for fraudulent schemes, so they released her.

And even though criminal charges were not filed for the identity theft, at least not yet, Ramos still could have been detained for being here illegally.

But no one ever told immigration authorities so Ramos walked right out of jail.

How does something like this happen?

After she was released, I tracked down Ramos at a South Phoenix trailer park.

In Spanish, Ramos said all she wanted was a job and that she never knew the identity she was using actually belonged to another woman.

As for the $17,000 St. Luke's Hospital bill she ran up, Ramos claims she'll try to pay it back.

And, finally, I wanted to know what her thoughts were with not only avoiding prosecution but somehow slipping through a system that could have deported her.

Her response?

"I don't know what to tell you," she said.

My question is how often does something like this happen? Clearly, the system looks like it needs a little tweaking.

Police say it's not their fault that Ramos was initially released because they did all they could by arresting her.

The sheriff's office tells me it's not their fault they released Ramos because they didn't know Ramos was an illegal alien so they had no idea they were supposed to contact immigration authorities.

After I kept asking questions, police re-arrested Ramos. This time prosecutors charged her with two counts of identity theft.

And this time immigration authorities have been contacted.


http://www.azfamily.com/news/3oys/stori ... 5279a.html

Give me a break a non English speaking Hispanic who stole someone elses ID screams illegal especially if you are in a highly invaded city. I personally think that either the department has a don't ask about immigration status policy like L.A. or the City of Miami Police Department or it is a case of what is known in Miami as: "a Latino halping a Latino." You wouldn't believe how many cops feel sorry for illegals and don't pull them over or ask immigration status. Many know about how the illegals are bused from a parking lot to construction sites yet they say nothing. They may not but I do and will continue to do so as I came legally and had to struggle to play by the rules and was never given any handouts. I see too many poor Americans who don't get the help that illegals do.