Credit card scam uncovered at HUP

Plymouth Township Detective Jed Salter knew he had a case of credit card fraud on his hands when a surveillance video showed a retail employee intentionally misentering credit card numbers. What he didn't know was that he was about to uncover a large-scale credit card scam involving several employees of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Police arrested Jacinta Burch, Mona Jackson and Dolores Whidbee -- all workers in the Gastrointestinal department at HUP -- last week after they allegedly purchased $1,600 worth of leather goods at the Plymouth Meeting Strawbridge's on December 20 and 21 using credit card numbers obtained from coworkers and patients. Strawbridge's cashier Tashawnia Chase, Jackson's cousin, was also arrested. After finding many credit card numbers and social security numbers on Whidbee -- possible evidence of identity fraud, a federal offense -- Salter traced the stolen numbers to workers and patients at HUP, where police began to see a very complex fraud operation unfold. Police believe the suspects stole bills that coworkers and patients left to be mailed at the hospital. With the names taken from those bills, they obtained credit card and social security numbers from the hospital identification database. They then created false identification cards, and obtained credit cards with instant credit. "We were very surprised and saddened by their alleged behavior," said HUP spokeswoman Rebecca Harmon. She added that all hospitals are vulnerable to such scams because they are required to record personal information from patients. None of the suspects had previous criminal records. In an e-mail on Friday, Robert Martin, chief operating officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, informed UPHS employees that the three workers had been dismissed. "We simply cannot condone nor pardon a breach of confidentiality," Martin said in the e-mail. He added that UPHS will take "immediate and aggressive steps" to prevent future unauthorized access of personal information. Whidbee and Chase were arrested at the store for credit card fraud, Salter said. Jackson and Burch fled, but were arrested on January 3. All of the suspects were from Philadelphia. The suspects allegedly also used the credit cards to make purchases at a Radio Shack, and possibly other stores. The victims whose numbers were stolen would then receive bills weeks later, Salter said. In the case of Strawbridge's, however, it was far simpler to make the purchases since Chase was involved in the scheme. She simply entered the credit card numbers manually without the fake credit cards, Salter explained. Plymouth and University Police have been working together in their investigations. They are currently examining how extensive the fraud operation was. It is not yet known whether other hospital employees were involved. "Based on the investigation to date,it appears that these three women who have been arrested are the sole source of the problem," Penn Det. Supervisor William Danks said.