Heart Patient Victimized By Credit Card Thief
By Jericka Duncan
LOWER SOUTHAMPTON, Pa. (CBS) – Police are searching for a suspect who fraudulently used the credit cards of a victim while he was in the hospital undergoing a heart procedure.
"I had major carotid artery surgery right here, and they cut it open," said Mark Young of Feasterville.
Young has not only been scarred from last month's heart surgery, he's been scammed.
During his stay at Hahnemann University Hospital for the surgery, the man seen in the video in the middle, who is wearing a bright green shirt, charged a total of $655.81 to a fake debit card with Mark Young's PNC debit card information.
Young found out about the charges a week after being released from the hospital when he checked his account online before purchasing season tickets for the Eagles.
"I checked my account, and it said I only had about $1,000 in there," said Young.
Police believe the two men on each side of the suspect are also apart of the scheme. There's video of them from the Target in Deptford, NJ and a Target in the Bridesburg section of Philadelphia.
"[It's a] Low down thing for a criminal to do. Poor guy's in the hospital, and he's getting ripped off," said Lt. Ted Krimmel.
Lower Southampton Township police aren't sure how or where Young's debit card information was compromised. They do know the suspect used Young's card information on March 14th and 15th, 2012.
Young's bank added the stolen money back to his checking account, but he wishes he could subtract the negative experience from his memory.
"I'm a hard working man, I have a family, and I just don't understand why they would do something like that," said Young.
Hahnemann University Hospital released the following statement regarding the incident:
"Hahnemann University Hospital takes the safety of our patients, employees and visitors seriously. We were notified by the Lower Southampton Twp. Police Department about an issue involving a former patient's credit cards. Hahnemann Security conducted a through internal investigation and have cooperated fully with the Lower Southampton Twp. Police Department in their investigation. There is no evidence that a theft of this patient's credit cards occurred at or by anyone affiliated with Hahnemann University Hospital."
Anyone with information on this incident is urged to contact the Lower Southampton Township Police Department at 215-357-1235 ext. 339.
