BATON ROUGE, La. — Police have arrested seven people in connection with a massive identity theft ring that links back to the Louisiana State University (LSU) Hospital System. Nearly 400 victims in 12 states have been affected by the scheme.
Authorities say 37-year-old Pamela Reams, who worked in the billing department at the facility, used her position to access several financial databases to obtain account information, WAFB.com reports. Reams would make counterfeit checks and identification cards and sell them to Tammy Matthews, 47. In turn, Matthews sold the checks to Meshaune Wilson, 34, and Valencia Paul, 37.
Those arrested include Reams; Matthews; Wilson, Paul; Lisa Haynes, 44; Lisa Anderson, 46; and Billy Ray Taylor Jr., 42. Reams has been charged with 377 counts of identity theft and possession of fraudulent documents for identification purposes in East Baton Rouge Parish. She also faces charges of conspiracy to commit monetary abuse and bank fraud in St. Tammany Parish.
