Healthcare worker convicted of identity theft from disabled, elderly
HIPAA Weekly Advisor, June 25, 2007
Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to HIPAA Weekly Advisor!
Pennsylvania caretaker Antoinette Colclough pled guilty and was convicted of identity theft on Tuesday, June 19, for stealing from three of her patients-a quadriplegic woman, a developmentally disabled man and an elderly woman with dementia. Colclough used the victims' credit cards to purchase various items, including $800 worth of lingerie from Victoria's Secret, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Judge Patricia H. Jenkins likened Colclough to a "parasite" for betraying her client's friendship and trust for her own benefit, according to Deputy District Attorney Gregory Hurchalla.
Colclough pled guilty to various counts of identity theft, access device fraud and theft by deception. The court ordered her to pay $28,911 in restitution, and she faces 15-30 months in state prison, followed by two years of probation. During her probation she cannot work in the healthcare field or care for the elderly or disabled, said Hurchalla. Colclough is a former employee of the Pennsylvania Agency of Nurses.
Click here for more information.
Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to HIPAA Weekly Advisor!
Related Products
Most Popular
- Articles
-
- Q/A: Volume requirement for reporting hydration services
- Featured blog post: Nurses face felony charges after reporting physician to the Texas Medical Board
- Catch up on what's new with injections and infusions
- Topic: CMS, OESS post new security compliance review information, checklist
- What does case-mix index mean to you?
- Capturing all necessary codes for IUD insertion and removal can be challenging
- QA:Coding multiple initial infusions
- News and briefs: Oklahoma Osteopathic Association against residency bill change
- HIPAA Q&A: Level of encryption needed for email
- OB services: Coding inside and outside of the package
- E-mailed
-
- Q/A: Volume requirement for reporting hydration services
- Featured blog post: Nurses face felony charges after reporting physician to the Texas Medical Board
- Catch up on what's new with injections and infusions
- New conflicts of interest create new challenges
- Q/A. One injection code or two?
- What does case-mix index mean to you?
- Q&A tackles coding questions about injections and infusions
- Joint Commission Center announces handoff communication solutions
- Inside best practice: Reduce patient falls with a stoplight
- Identify modifiable risk factors to prevent patient falls
- Searched