Former hospital worker accused of ID theft

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- A former Southern California hospital employee has been accused of taking more than 1,000 patients' records to file bogus insurance claims, officials said.

James Allen Wilson, a former employee in the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's billing department, allegedly used the patients' identities to file workers' compensation claims through a fictitious lab, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.

The newspaper said the Los Angeles hospital's chief financial officer warned affected patients in a letter sent last week.

Hospital officials said Allen, who last worked at Cedars-Sinai in March 2007, had access to the patients' records for billing purposes, but did not have permission to take identifying information home.

The scheme allegedly netted Wilson at least $69,000, said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.

Wilson was arrested Nov. 6 by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. He has pleaded not guilty to multiple felony charges, including identity theft, insurance fraud and grand theft.