Woman in Arizona allegedly racked up $500,000 in fraudulent medical bills | Crime Files
PHOENIX - We are learning more about a woman who MCSO accuses of committing identity theft and fraud.
The 47-year-old woman was arrested on July 22, days after MCSO released her photos, saying at the time that she was a suspect in several cases spanning from September 2022 to March 2024.
Here are the details.
Who's the suspect?
Shannon Smith
Court documents identify the suspect as Shannon Lee Smith.
Smith, per investigators, also went by a number of different aliases.
What happened?
Per court documents, an investigation into Smith began in November 2023, when a woman named Jennifer O'Connor reported to MCSO that she had received a bill for medical services from Banner Health that totaled $26,533.70, for services provided at Banner Desert Medical Center in September 2022 and Banner Boswell Medical Center in August 2023.
"O'Connor advised she had never had medical care at either of those hospitals, nor did she have medical care during those time periods," read a portion of Smith's court documents.
Investigators say a warrant check that was run on O'Connor came back with a misdemeanor warrant from Phoenix Police for failing to appear in court for a 3rd degree trespassing charge. The warrant listed a known address for O'Connor that is located in Mesa.
"O'Connor advised she had never been associated with that address," a portion of the court documents read.
In addition, investigators say body camera video taken from the incident that resulted in the trespassing charge showed a female suspect. Investigators say that suspect was obviously not O'Connor.
Per court documents, O'Connor later told investigators that she has also received bills from HonorHealth John C. Lincoln Medical Center for medical procedures done in her name in November 2023.
"She advised she never had any medical procedures completed at HonorHealth John C. Lincoln Medical Center," read a portion of the court documents. "She also stated she had received information from the State of Arizona, advising someone had used her personal information to attempt to sign up for the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) in 2023."
O'Connor also told detectives that "due to the multiple identity thefts involving Banner Health hospitals and the subsequent medical care received at Banner Boswell by someone using her name and date of birth," Banner had actually been garnishing her wages to cover the medical care Smith allegedly received.
As for the attempted AHCCCS sign-up, investigators said the suspect used the phone number of a then-47-year-old man who was later identified as O'Connor's ex-husband. The aforementioned Mesa address was actually the address for O'Connor's ex-husband.
"The information was obtained by the victims ex-husband. We are looking at that side of it to see if he is complicit in any of this," said Juaquin Enriquez with MCSO.
"O'Connor advised she is still receiving medical bills from Banner Health, as well as HonorHealth hospitals, totaling over $350,000," read a portion of the court documents. "Additional charges are expected as receipt of medical records and billing statements from HonorHealth and Banner Health are still pending."
Per court documents, Smith was arrested at Paradise Valley Hospital. Detectives say six extraditable warrants out of the State of Idaho were issued for the suspect.
What is she accused of?
Investigators say Smith is accused of a count of fraudulent schemes and artifices (A.R.S. 13-2310), three counts of taking the identity of another person (A.R.S. 13-2008A), a count of theft (A.R.S. 13-1802A6), and three counts of criminal impersonation (A.R.S. 13-2006A1). All are felonies.
A judge has set a $100,000 bond for Smith, and if the bond is paid, court documents state she will be required to undergo electronic monitoring.
A preliminary hearing for Smith has been set for July 29.