Trio accused of stealing Apollo Elementary employees’ identities.

Three people face charges in connection with identity thefts stealing the identities of several current and former employees of Apollo Elementary School in Titusville.

Brevard County Sheriff’s Deputies said Richard Harvill, Michelle Walker, and Alison Greenlay were using the victims’ stolen identities to purchase merchandise at local stores, according to a release. Agent Jacqueline Hearon said the trio got about $30,000 total from nine victims.

The release named Richard Harvill as a career criminal. He has previous convictions dating back to 1987 that include aggravated battery, escape, battery on a law enforcement officer, forgery, grand theft, fraudulent use of personal identification, and trafficking in stolen property.

Harvill was most recently released from state prison in 2010, according to the Department of Corrections website.

Hearon said they suspect a relative of one of the suspects worked at Apollo and helped the trio obtain information on the victims.

Greenlay was arrested in Brevard County. Harvill and Walker are being held in North Carolina on charges of operating a meth lab, according to the release. They will be returned to Brevard to face the identity theft charges.

Harvill’s charges include: 34 counts of criminal use of personal identification, 2 counts of fraudulent use of credit cards, 2 counts of grand theft and 1 count of forgery.

Walker’s charges include: 33 counts of criminal use of personal identification, 8 counts of fraudulent use of a credit card, 7 counts of scheme to defraud, 1 count of forgery and 1 count of grand theft.

Greenlay’s charges include: fraudulent use of a credit card, forgery, grand theft and violation of probation.

The Sheriff’s Office is asking that anyone who may have information concerning this investigation contact Agent Jacqueline Hearon at (321) 264-5210 or CRIMELINE at 1-800-423-TIPS (8477). All calls to CRIMELINE are confidential and callers can remain anonymous.

Contact Ford at aford3@floridatoday.com or 321-242-3601

(original post)

The cost of medical ID theft:

The Ponemon Institute surveyed 757 patient victims of medical ID theft to find out how the situations were resolved and the repercussions of the crimes. Often, physicians might be obliged to cover the cost of identity theft if it happened at their practice.

• Average time to resolve: 12.1 months
• Personal cost of resolving theft: $22,346 per victim
• Those who lost trust in their health care organization as a result: 51%
• Percentage who had medical records accessed: 20%
• Percentage with private insurance: 44%
• Percentage with Medicare: 21%
• Percentage not insured: 20%

Source: “Third Annual National Study On Medical Identity Theft,” Ponemon Institute, June

Where to go for help:

There are several agencies, both government and private, that investigate and provide resources on medical identity theft.

For more information:

• World Privacy Forum (worldprivacyforum.org/)
• Federal Trade Commission (ftc.gov/idtheft)
• CMS Provider Victim Validation/Remediation Initiative (cms.gov/Medicare/Provider-Enrollment-and-Certification/MedicareProviderSupEnroll/Downloads/ProviderVictimPOCs.pdf)

To file a complaint:

• Federal Trade Commission: 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338)
• Medicare: 1-800-MEDICARE (633-4227)
• Office of the Inspector General: 1-800-HHS-TIPS (447-8477)

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